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CES 2021: LG Teases 'World's First Rollable Smartphone'

Oh my god, at least is funny !! If one day I spot someone in the tram rolling or unrolling a phone I will laugh at his/her face. What is the need that they want to address?!
 
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Really like this.
Seems far nicer and practical than a folding phone, and avoids all the creasing issues.
Seems like it could be the best answer of how to turn a small screen into a large screen
 
anson42 said:
One advantage is thickness. With current foldables, the closed device is twice as thick as when open but not so with a scrollable that maintains its thickness. While a folding phone like the Fold does protect its screen when closed, it also needs another screen to be usable in that state. Not so with a scrollable where only one screen is necessary. In theory, that could reduce the production cost, increase overall reliability (main screen aside) and simplify the OS and application integration. We're all used to single screen phones, so shifting to a scrollable like the LG seems an easier transition.

Some disadvantages:
  • rolling mechanism seems a very likely failure point
  • excess battery draw from rolling (and larger screen), needs special low battery handling like auto-close before running out
  • need for ability to manually close in the event of auto-close failure (?)
  • dust and larger particles entering the device when closing could damage both the screen and rollers
  • complexity for application developers to dynamically/smoothly accommodate a slowly changing screen resolution (different from instant unfolding though that could have its own complex behaviors as well at different angles)
  • when extended, the structural integrity of the phone is compromised, but by how much? Imagine dropping today's iPhone vs dropping the LG when it is fully extended
  • overall weight to accommodate larger screen material and rollers
Click to expand...

Maybe on the thickness, but at least in the referenced video you can't really see how thick LG's phone is. You can almost squint and maybe tell that it's thinner than something like a folded Fold 2, but we'll have to wait and see official specs. We are still talking about a lot of hardware, the rolled up screen, the motorized mechanism, rollers, etc, I wouldn't really be surprised if it wasn't much thinner than a folded Fold 2. The Fold 2 needing 2 screens can be an advantage, in particular when I need a "narrow" phone for stuff such as one handed use. But I don't disagree that it definitely increases production cost and might decrease overall reliability. As for OS/app integration I'm really really impressed with how the main and outer screens have very little issue in that regard, and any issue is cleared up with the Good Lock app.

But I'm certainly not arguing FOR the folding paradigm at all, personally I think the rolling paradigm makes more sense, just maybe not today with the fragility of the screens. If they can get it to 130% or so thickness of today's flagships, make the rolling either manual and/or much faster and have a glass screen with the durability of non rolling flagships then it will be an incredible paradigm. Also keep in mind Samsung has their own prototypes and I'll bet they join the party in 2021. Based on how incredible the Fold 2 turned out I can only imagine how nice a Samsung rollable phone will be.
 
robertosh said:
Oh my god, at least is funny !! If one day I spot someone in the tram rolling or unrolling a phone I will laugh at his/her face. What is the need that they want to address?!
Click to expand...

It's so baffling why this keeps coming up, I honestly just don't get the disconnect from reality. Having a tablet sized screen that can shrink and fit into spaces a smartphone can fit is the need. You personally may not have that need, but some of us (I'll bet a LOT of us) would love to have a tablet sized screen that we could carry around as easily as our smartphones. I get that the technology is very alpha and today's solutions aren't the best, and critique of that make sense. But to throw out the entire paradigm because of a complete lack of vision is just baffling.
 
This is exactly how I see Apple leveraging flexible displays.

I'm just curious how they'll address the glass panel. A flexible screen also means a flexible touch surface which can't be the hard glass that we're used to.
 
spinedoc77 said:
But to throw out the entire paradigm because of a complete lack of vision is just baffling.
Click to expand...
Totally. Here's but one use case: I like to read the occasional digital comic book and I do that on an iPad. Even with the ability to focus on various panels the experience on my 6.7" iPhone sucks in comparison with the ability to view more or all of the page. Would I like to be able to expand my phone to read a comic book without having to carry an iPad around, especially while commuting? You bet I would. Another is watching a show or movie. Would I rather have the larger image as demonstrated by the LG video when I want it? You bet I would. Then I can return to normal phone size for other activities I'm more comfortable with the smaller size. And I can carry that in my pocket. Huge win.
 
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spinedoc77 said:
It's so baffling why this keeps coming up, I honestly just don't get the disconnect from reality. Having a tablet sized screen that can shrink and fit into spaces a smartphone can fit is the need. You personally may not have that need, but some of us (I'll bet a LOT of us) would love to have a tablet sized screen that we could carry around as easily as our smartphones. I get that the technology is very alpha and today's solutions aren't the best, and critique of that make sense. But to throw out the entire paradigm because of a complete lack of vision is just baffling.
Click to expand...
It’s like people are stuck in the past and don’t realise tech moves forward...
 
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Another SmartPhone company has definitely announced similar prototypes months ago. Don’t remember whether it’s XiaoMi or Vivo or Oppo.
 
spinedoc77 said:
The Fold 2 needing 2 screens can be an advantage, in particular when I need a "narrow" phone for stuff such as one handed use.
Click to expand...
I agree with everything you wrote but just wanted to comment on this statement. The equivalent of the Fold's narrow view would just be the natural, unexpanded state of the rollable device, assuming it has the narrow form factor of today's phones. I don't particularly see that as an advantage for a second screen, only that it is a necessary byproduct of Samsung's design.
 
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So if Apple does roll this out (no pun intended), and it becomes Rollgate (or Scrollgate) when design defects are discovered: "You rolling it wrong!"
 
I rather have an iPhone for the smaller content and an iPad for the bigger content.
Having a phone that extends to the size of an iPad mini doesn't solve much for me.
And yes, I prefer two devices.
This LG phone apparently requires two hands to operate. Not good for me.
 
anson42 said:
I agree with everything you wrote but just wanted to comment on this statement. The equivalent of the Fold's narrow view would just be the natural, unexpanded state of the rollable device, assuming it has the narrow form factor of today's phones. I don't particularly see that as an advantage for a second screen, only that it is a necessary byproduct of Samsung's design.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'll admit it's not the best example, certainly it's more a byproduct of the form factor than anything else. It is an advantage for myself as I tend to use my phone one handed a lot, but I don't expect this to be a sales bullet point or anything.
 
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