Affordable and folded phones give us something to look forward to in technology

This story is part of it CES, where our editors bring the latest news and hottest tools of the CES 2021 in full meaning.

Maybe it was just an interesting look from LG at a CES 2021 press conference, but that warm-up of a smartphone with a screen that sends out ads at the back for mobile devices that want to shake up the usual metal and glass slate. Despite the introduction of a few new phones in 2020 – notably the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold 2, as well as the wider release of the Motorola Razr, not many people were in the mood to to spend $ 2,000 in the midst of its global pandemic.

It’s 2021 and, well, not much has changed. The hope, however, is that the rapid release of the COVID-19 vaccine – which is still large if at this stage – could bring some normalcy to our lives, as well as a renewed desire and appreciation for smartphones. creative and dynamic.

As we face it, we could all use something to inspire us again.

LG did its best with its tease on the first day of CES. It was a second short look, this time offering the name of the device, the LG Rollable on the nose. Ironically, LG executives didn’t even mention it at the press conference – scenes of the phones were seen in quick promo reels that started and ended the event – but it’s real and coming this year.

TCL, which has unveiled a number of complex prototypes over the past two years and was pushing more concepts on Monday, will finally release a phone call to consumers this year, which according to Stefan Strait, general marketing manager for the company. Most notable is its $ 1,000 price tag target. That’s according to a statement from Samsung last month about more affordable packages.

These foldable and rollable phones aren’t just gimmicks meant to build a bit of a build. These new, experimental designs will help move the industry forward when it comes to how mobile devices look and function in the years to come. Just as the iPhone has evolved handsets from flip designs and candy bars to slim metal-and-glass slates, foldables may inspire a change in the way we interact with our phones down the line. line. Lower prices mean these phones are a bit more accessible to people.

“Form factor innovation is definitely a feature,” Ronan Dunne, Verizon’s head of consumer business, said in an interview Tuesday. He didn’t mention the LG Rollable but noted that he was “very caught up” with some of the tricks coming down the line.

But can that excitement be like the first explosion of energy? The clock turned back two years to 2019 and the hype was foldable at fever pitch. Samsung halted issues with an early look at its Galaxy Fold, followed a few days later by Huawei’s Mate X that ended the year with the Razr. Things were supposed to go up in 2020, with more packages coming.

We all know what happened now.

But early action at CES suggests we could be there for further improvements this year.

Evolved from foldable

The LG Rollable phone display comes back to the Signed LG OLED R., the rollable TV that has been a highlight of the past few LG CES conferences. Using flexible displays in a large 65-inch television is impressive, but pushing that technology into a mobile phone is another challenge.

“I can’t help but marvel at the technological innovation that goes into those,” said Ramon Llamas, an analyst at IDC. “It says a lot about display technology and their intent that can be incorporated into such a flexible form factor.”

Although LG did not offer much information about the phone, revealing the name of the device suggests that it is ready to move forward with the product. The Rollable would mark another radical change in design over even the folded phone and show that the industry still has new tricks up its sleeve.

LG isn’t the only one thinking of rollables. The TCL display business also showed off two rollable concepts, one a smaller phone with a screen that goes up to 6.7 inches while in picture mode and the other a 17-inch display that opens from both head as a treasure map.

TCL is nowhere near launching a rollable phone. Strait said in an interview ahead of the show that the company was still working on updating its prototype mechanics.

Samsung reportedly also has its own rollable prototype, according to ET News (via Tom’s Guide), and Oppo demonstrated a rollable concept called Oppo X 2021.

Despite the pandemic, LG did not stop trying last year, when it released it in the fall. LG Shield, a weird phone with one screen stacked on top of another screen, capable of moving to a horizontal position, essentially creating a T-shaped display. As unusual as it sounds, CNET editor Lynn La said that helped with multitasking and video recording.

Even though it was not a big blow, it is moving the industry in another direction.

Making folders more accessible

After years of mocking wild prototypes, TCL is finally ready to get into the foldables game. While the company mum about foldables during their CES show, Strait said the company plans to release one this year at the $ 1,000 price point.

“We are 100% sure that this allows us to be very upset,” Strait said in an interview ahead of CES.

As a result, Strait said the first complex would use more conventional design than the worst concepts we’ve already seen. That suggests a design like a flip phone, which we’ve seen from Samsung and Motorola. These devices come at lower price points than larger phones with folding screens like the Galaxy Z Fold 2 or Huawei Mate X.

Similarly, Samsung was advertising even more packages in 2021.

“The Z Fold2 has been touted as a smartphone that replicates what mobile technology can do and I’m excited to say, it’s just a little bit of what’s to come as long as we continue to explore, evolving and expanding this space that is changing regions, ”TM Roh, president of mobile communications for Samsung, said in a blog post.

That goes according to a report from ET News that Samsung has four folds coming this year, including two different versions of each of the Flip and Fold reports.

The breadth of folded phones is coming to show that it won’t just be a show or play thing for one-percenters and we may all get a taste of where phones go over the next few years.