Rollable Device: Uncharted Territories in the Smartphones’ Field

LG’s CES 2021 keynote in 9 minutes [Video]

Video uploaded by Engadget on January 11, 2021

Rollable Device: There Are Some Uncharted Territories in the Smartphones’ Field

It looks like the gadget news – in particular, those related to smartphones – are not about to drain away any time soon. And, believe it or not, it’s not just Apple who generate this content, contrary to what their fans would have us think…

Seriously though, no offence to any maker meant, but from what we can see, it’s the latest LG’s offering, just announced at the CES show – which makes it one of the first novelties of the year – might well bloom into the newest talk of the town.

But what is so different about this LG Rollable device, promised to arrive on the market this year, you might ask? After all, it’s not like LG is the first ever major (or any, for that matter) sector player who introduced the idea of a foldable phone. This honor belongs to Royole, and now Samsung and Huawei also count some among their products. So why was it the LG’s not-yet-released model we observed just momentarily (thanks to a short teaser at the exhibition) that caught our eye and ignited our curiosity?

What is so different about this LG Rollable device, promised to arrive on the market this year, you might ask? One-word answer to the above question about difference would be “design”.

One-word answer to the above question about difference would be “design”. To be more specific, Rollable may not be the first foldable smartphone ever, but it’s certainly the first one where the two concepts – that of the current, traditional smartphones and that of the foldability as such – are paired so, shall we say, harmoniously. We mean, it’s not that easy to tell LG Rollable’s appearance from that of your regular “normal”, unfoldable smartphones, at the first sight. A bit more frankly speaking, it’s much less cumbersome than its existing foldable cousins. But a closer look reveals expandable edges meant to do the necessary transformation from phone to (granted, not so large) tablet, thus increasing – and then, when needed, decreasing back – the size of the device’s display. And they do it rather quickly and smoothly, from what we have seen. So here you have your difference in practical terms: if the phone / tabled switch – or the rolling-out, to keep in line with the brand name – will prove to be as swift and easy in reality as it looks on the video, it will indeed set the new arrival apart nicely from the competition.

Now, we freely admit that this only quality isn’t exactly that much to go by as far as the upcoming model’s overall quality is concerned, and not exactly enough to predict its future success or failure. But on the other hand, in our opinion, it’s important enough to be seriously taken into account, if only because it does bring a new – and rather appealing, for our money – concept into the game, which means it can notably change the said game at the end of the day. For, should LG implement it well, the end result will most likely turn out to be the most convenient foldable smartphone hybrid around, and, rather probably, one of the sleekest there are as well. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised that in case of the aforementioned successful execution of the concept, this phone’s title, Rollable, could turn into a generic term, replacing the current “foldable” description.

In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised that in case of the aforementioned successful execution of the concept, this phone’s title, Rollable, could turn into a generic term, replacing the current “foldable” description.

And, mind you, the company seems to be very confident about their newest model’s quality. We mean, it goes beyond your regular advertising fanfare which is par for the course whenever any new goods are promised to the buying masses. On top of fitting the smartphone’s full front view into the aforesaid short video, LG actually announced the plans to release this new smartphone before the end of the year. So it is now virtually certain that Rolable is to become the first of its kind, even though there are two more firms going in the same direction, those being TCL and Oppo X (none of whom, however, has given even a slightest hint of a release schedule).

Which, in a way, is also a sign (if an indirect one) that LG is moving in the right direction: the idea of rollability clearly appears to catch on, with others sitting up and taking notice even before the first “field” tests being taken. In other words, LG, by all intents and purposes, is about to start a new trend, and this, if nothing else, is always interesting.

Sadly (though fully expectedly) the model in question also possesses another inescapable quality of practically any trend-starter: it is not going to come cheap, and that’s putting it mildly. If we are to believe the latest Twitter leak , it might be that only those willing (and capable) of parting with the sum of $2,359 will be able to get their hands on this potential game-changer. But in a way, it also points at the Rollable in particular and rollability in general most likely being a real thing.