LG has offered the first proper glimpse of its rollable smartphone plans, as it seeks to compete with the foldable phones from Samsung.
During its virtual CES press conference, LG showed an exceptionally brief look at the LG Rollable (yes, that’s the actual name for now) phone, but didn’t elaborate much at all.
In the quick video shown during the event, LG showed the display slowly rolling out to expand the size. Effectively, it’s a smaller version of the televisions we’ve seen from LG at previous CES events and likely means LG will be able to ensure a launch free of teething problems when it applies the tech to smartphones.
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It seems from the video that users will be able to quickly summon a larger version of the mechanical display, from smartphone to tablet. This could be handy if you’re gaming or playing YouTube videos for examples.
LG didn’t really say anything about when it could seek to debut the range of smartphones, but it doesn’t appear it will be any time soon. Hopefully, it gets a better name by the time it comes to market. LG, of course, is no stranger to experimenting with smartphone form factors. The recent LG Wing, which offers a rotating secondary display, was launched in 2020 to a mixed reception.
Our reviewer called it: “One of the most interesting phones of recent years, and a solid first effort at a new form factor. However, the LG Wing has made a few too many compromises, with too few corresponding advantages, and for too much money to be worth a gamble over the very best flagships.”
The rollable phones could be more of a long-term answer to Samsung’s folding displays, not least because it would negate the need for a hinge and a whacking great crease down the middle of the display.