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posted by Fnord666 on Friday November 02 2018, @11:34AM   Printer-friendly
from the text-messages-above-the-fold dept.

Royole's bendy-screen FlexPai phone unveiled in China

A little-known California-based company has laid claim to creating the "world's first foldable phone".

Royole Corporation - a specialist in manufacturing flexible displays - unveiled the FlexPai handset at an event in Beijing. When opened, the device presents a single display measuring 7.8in (19.8cm) - bigger than many tablets. But when folded up, it presents three separate smaller screens - on the front, rear and spine of the device.

The six-year-old company said it would hold three "flash sales" to consumers in China on 1 November to offer the first product run.

[...] The launch has caught many industry watchers by surprise. It was widely believed Samsung or Huawei would be the first to sell such a device to the public.

[...] Another company-watcher added that he doubted the FlexPai would ever be produced in large numbers. "Royole has carried out several publicity stunts over the years to showcase its flexible OLED [organic light-emitting diode] displays," said Dr Guillaume Chansin from Irimitech Consulting. "The FlexPai is probably another stunt. Royole is building its first OLED factory and it is now trying to compete directly with other display manufacturers such as Samsung and LG."

Samsung has been talking about this kind of thing for years. But talk is cheap.

Also at The Verge and BGR.

See also: The World's First Foldable Screen Phone Is Not Fully Baked

Related: Flexible and Printable Battery that Will Revolutionize Wearables
Underwriters Laboratories Certifies "Unbreakable" and Flexible Samsung OLED Display
Nubia's Wearable Smartphone is a Preview of our Flexible OLED Future


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday November 02 2018, @12:13PM (3 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday November 02 2018, @12:13PM (#756801) Journal

    You could look at it as a tablet that you have a fighting chance of getting into your pants pocket.

    We'll have to see what other implementations end up looking like. And to be convinced, people will probably want to bend (break?) a display model at a physical store.

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 02 2018, @12:29PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 02 2018, @12:29PM (#756805)

    Is that a tablet in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by opinionated_science on Friday November 02 2018, @01:26PM

    by opinionated_science (4031) on Friday November 02 2018, @01:26PM (#756827)

    "Royole OS will updated frequently".

    So flexible paperweight?

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 03 2018, @01:06PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 03 2018, @01:06PM (#757266)

    I can fit a "7 inch" tablet in my pants pocket (do this with my kindle often). Probably wouldn't be comfortable if it was this thick.