Although the invention of a “rollable” is not entirely new, LG never launched its finished Android smartphone. Now Motorola is trying its hand at the concept. The Lenovo subsidiary presented a functional concept smartphone at its Tech World 2022 event.
TL;DR
- Motorola presented a “Rollable” screen smartphone.
- This is still a concept device.
- The device display expands vertically.
Motorola Rollable seems to be ready for series production
A smartphone with a retractable display might be the next big thing after the foldables. A foldable also has the approach of turning a smartphone into a tablet, but the disadvantage is currently the thickness of the case, which makes the foldable device a real “clunker” in the pocket. Antoine is currently testing the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2, which is considered the “thinnest” foldable.
The idea of rollables is much more comfortable in terms of form factor. The device is very small when rolled up and still relatively thin. The Motorola Rollable has a 4-inch pOLED display in its original state, but it can be extended to a diagonal of 6.5 inches at the push of a button.
Admittedly, we already saw the idea of a rollable mobile from Oppo and TCL. And of course quite prominently from LG, which had already produced a few units of its rollable phone. Unfortunately, the South Korean stepped back before the launch, which is why the LG Rollables were distributed among the company management.
However, there is a small but subtle difference: The Motorola Rollable is the only Android smartphone that expands vertically. LG, Oppo, and TCL enlarged their prototypes horizontally, i.e. sideways and not upwards.
The Motorola Rollable was created in the former hometown of Chicago, Illinois, where its 312 Labs is headquartered. Practically the center of innovation, product management, research, design, and engineering. In other words, the center where the Motorola razr 2022 was born, which should also slowly reach the western shores.