Watch Motorola’s concept rollable phone expand vertically from a 4-inch to a 6.5-inch screen
According to CNET, Motorola revealed its rollable concept during the Lenovo Tech World event. The device can change screen size from 4-inches to 6.5-inches and because it is a concept device, there are no plans yet to release the rollable phone to the public. The concept phone developed by Motorola is different from other rollable concepts which stretch horizontally to turn from a smartphone screen to a tablet-sized display.
Instead, the Motorola concept expands vertically to change from a small-screened handset to one with an average-sized display. While it might take several more years before rollables become widely available to consumers, Ross Young, the co-founder and CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), believes that the public might be happier with the rollable form factor than with today’s foldable devices such as the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
Previously Young had said, “I think the rollable concept has a lot of potential to replace that book-type device in my mind because it’s going to be a lot thinner. And it should be a lot lighter.” A rollable form factor could also do away with the crease that mars the look of foldable devices.
Speaking of foldables, Motorola earlier this year released the Razr 22, the third generation of its clamshell foldable phone. So far, however, the device has been available only in China although a European release is coming soon. Motorola upgraded the Razr this year replacing the mid-range Snapdragon chip deployed on the device with a top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC.
Motorola is nowhere near the top of the global foldable market which is led by Samsung. Counterpoint Research says that the latter owns a 62% market share thanks to the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip models. Huawei is next with 16%. The foldable market is expected to grow 73% this year.
Motorola showed a short video at Lenovo Tech World of its rollable concept and with the press of a button, the OLED display grows taller. The idea is, like the Razr, you can easily fit the rollable device in your pocket and have it extend to its full size when needed. Lenovo released a video, which we embedded in this article, showing the phone expanding in size.