OPINION : Motorola revealed a raw rollable concept telephone a few calendar month back – and I finally catch the opportunity to play with it atMWC 2023 . While it ’s not quick for prize time just yet , it ’s an exciting look at what could be the next openhanded thing in smartphone technology .
There are plenty of companies that are experimenting withfoldable smartphonesincluding the the likes of of Samsung , Oppo , Honor , Xiaomi and even Motorola itself , but the company does n’t require to put all its eggs in one basket .
Rather than sitting well with the high - endMotorola Razr , the society is gaze into the future to see what other forms a smartphone could take , and the company seems to think that rollable tech could be the next big matter .
A big screen on demand
In a similar construct to foldables that go from a little pocket - sized phone to a large , almost pad of paper - sized equipment , the Motorola rollable construct is a small - silver screen smartphone that can extend in size on command .
In its compact configuration , the phone sports a 5 - in exhibit with a rather square view proportion . That size fits really nicely in the palm of the helping hand , with not - too - different dimensions to clamshell foldables in their folded form , but with the added welfare of being capable to to the full use the phone in that form factor , unlike the ilk of Samsung and co.
I come up the display to be a little too boxy in its shriveled state , but it does still have its uses , be it apace replying to an e-mail or check your directions in Google Maps . It is n’t , however , contrive for telecasting playback or gaming .
That ’s where the rollable conception comes into its own . With a double - dog of the power button , the phone metamorphose as the curved display extend beyond the top side of the phone , resemble something akin to a stock smartphone display .
The part where the presentation protrudes beyond the frame of the phone is impressively thin , but with a unsullied steel backplate , it ’s still fairly stiff – though Motorola admits it still has study to do with the overall durability of the concept . I imagine it would n’t fare too well if press was utilize .
Still , it ’s visually sensational , and you do n’t always have to activate it yourself either .
Motorola has ramp up smartness into its Android O skin that permit the phone to automatically expand and retract depending on what you ’re doing . follow a YouTube video full screen or gaming ? The video display will automatically thrive , and it ’ll only recant back to its more portable strain once you allow for the app .
The rollable display wind around the bottom of the phone , onto the back panel , when not in use . But rather than just being a black slab , the mini rear display can be used as an always - on display for incoming notifications , and much like other foldables , you could also use it as a evenhandedly tumid finder when take photo .
Where’s the selfie camera?
While on the subject of cameras , you might notice that there is n’t a front - facing camera embedded within that ultra - thin rollable display . It ’s not much of a surprisal give how thin the extended display is , as the camera would ’ve add a notable gibbousness to the hind end of the display , but that ’s not to say there is n’t a selfie camera .
When flip over the camera to the front perspective in the camera app or any other camera - enable app , the display will shift downwardly ever so slenderly to reveal a low selfie television camera in the top - leave recession . Being a concept twist , the overall double quality of the rather small selfie sensor is n’t awful , but it ’s certainly an interesting idea that keep the show clean and hole - punch - free .
The bad news
Of naturally , as an in - development conception production , the rollable concept is n’t quite stark just yet . There are still kinks that call for to be worked out , include ( but not limited to ) the whirring noise the phone makes when extending and retracting that rollable display . But , for the most part , the O and hardware seem to work well .
But , before you go get your hope up that the phone will make an appearance sometime this year , Motorola has explicitly read that it ’s not something that ’ll be perish into production anytime soon – part the reason why it does n’t have an official smartphone name , and why Motorola is n’t partake inside information about the technical school within the smartphone .
It is , however , an area that Motorola is adorn heavily in , and it ’s not hard to see why . The rollable conception looks and feels like something from the future , and I ’m excited to see this tech integrated into a real product a little further down the line .
