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Motorola shows off its concept rollable smartphone
Lenovo is showing off rollable phone and laptop concepts, and they look like some of the more practical efforts yet.
This is how close LG's Rollable was to being a real phone
A hands-on video of the device shows a full functional rollable phone.
LG's rollable OLED R TV costs $100,000 in the US
LG is done skirting around the price of its rollable OLED R TV.
LG's rollable OLED R TV is available in the US, if you can afford one
LG's rollable OLED TV is available, it's just probably not affordable.
TCL’s latest concept phone combines a folding screen with a rollable one
TCL revealed more than just a handful of budget phones today — it also pulled back the curtain on yet another wild concept device that we’ll probably never get to buy. It’s called the Fold n’ Roll, and really, the name says it all.
Oppo's X 2021 prototype shows that rollable phones have potential
The Oppo X 2021 prototype rollable phone can switch between a conventional 6.7-inch screen and a mini-tablet-like 7.4-inch screen. This is achieved by rolling part of the flexible OLED panel into the back of the phone, which supposedly avoids the creasing issue we've seen on foldables.
Presenting the Best of CES 2021 winners!
The cream of the crop in 14 categories, plus Best of the Best and the winner of our People's Choice reader poll.
TCL teases a 17-inch tablet that unfurls like a scroll
TCL has teased plans for a 17-inch tablet that unfurls like a scroll, although when you'll get it is another matter.
TCL's new budget-friendly '20' series phones are the first of many
TCL only started selling smartphones under its own banner last year, and it made the most of that momentum -- the company released six smartphones in 2020 alone. TCL confirmed today it will release at least five smartphones in its new TCL 20 series, possibly including a more ambitious model, like a final version of one of its rollable or foldable concepts. It packs a 6.67-inch Full HD+ display with a center-aligned cutout so an 8-megapixel front camera can peer through the panel.
LG will fight foldables with a rollable phone, and it's coming in 2021
For the last two years, it's been an open secret that LG has been working on a smartphone with a rollable screen — that is, a device with a display that starts out phone-sized and stretches out into a tiny tablet. It's still not quite done, but that didn't stop LG from offering our first real glimpse at the device — called the LG Rollable — in a lightning-fast teaser during its CES 2021 press conference. While further details are scant, the LG Rollable is at least visually a tantalizing response to Samsung's slew of foldable phones.
LG's rollable OLED TV goes on sale for $87,000
After years of teasing, LG is finally selling a rollable OLED TV. The RX-branded Signature OLED R launched in South Korea today, offering a 65-inch 4K display that tucks away into its base at the press of a button.
LG teases an ‘Explorer Project’ phone with a slide-out display
LG's second phone could look at lot like TCL's rollable sliding smartphone.
TCL's concept device folds twice to fit a 10-inch screen in your pocket
It's no surprise that 2020 continues to be the year of foldables. We've already seen the Motorola Razr and Galaxy Z Flip go on sale, and TCL is ready to wow us with more. But don't get too excited. It's only showing us concept devices, not products it actually plans on launching (yet). The company has unveiled two prototypes -- the results of its experiments to see what's possible with flexible screens. One of these is what TCL calls its tri-fold tablet concept, which is a screen that folds twice to create three panels. The more interesting of the pair is what the company says is the "world's first rollable extendable display smartphone concept."
Watch LG's CES press event in 9 minutes
This morning, LG used its CES press conference to reveal more details about its "Real 8K" televisions and rollable 4K OLED TV. LG also offered a glimpse of its 48-inch 4K OLED and its GX Gallery Series ultrathin wallpaper OLED TVs. Additionally, the company confirmed that the 2020 lineup will support Dolby Vision IQ and Filmmaker Mode, and US viewers will be able to get additional details about specific scenes.
LG Display unveils a 65-inch rollable OLED
Four years ago LG Display showed us an 18-inch OLED screen capable of rolling up like a newspaper and promised larger versions in the future. Now it's delivering, with a 65-inch OLED that's flexible enough to roll up and store when not in use. Besides this TV and its 88-inch 8K OLED, it's also back with an upgraded version of its Crystal Sound tech (seen in Sony's OLED TVs) that embeds speakers directly into the screen. Not only is it ready to embed speakers in LCDs used for desktop monitors and laptops, it's also going to show off an OLED TV that upgrades over the original's 2.1 channel audio to 3.1, no extra speakers necessary.
LG's rollable OLED display is my CES dream come true
It's real and it's dreamy. After touring the company's other futuristic prototypes, LG Display got in touch so it could show us that glorious rollable OLED in action. It was glorious. And the future. And something that can actually get me excited here at CES. My picnic blanket OLED TV will happen.
60 seconds with a giant, rollable display for your mobile devices
At some point, you've probably wished that your smartphone had a much larger screen to watch a movie or get work done... but you can't always lug a desktop display or tablet around, can you? If Insert Coin finalist RollRR has its way, you won't have to. It's developing rollable displays that would give your mobile devices a lot more visual real estate without consuming much space in your bag. The prototype on the Engadget Expand show floor is a 10.7-inch roll of e-paper attached to a giant tube, but the ultimate goal is to fit a 21-inch or larger screen (ideally, full color plastic OLED) into a gadget the size of a small umbrella. It's also considering touch technology like 3M's silver nanowires, so RollRR could expand your input area, too -- you could edit a large image on your phone just by unrolling the sheet on a table.
Nanowires three atoms wide could lead to paper-thin gadgets
What's that odd shape, you ask? That's the world's thinnest nanowire -- and it could be the key to a future wave of flexible devices. In blasting single-layered, semiconducting materials with an electron beam, Vanderbilt University student Junhao Lin has created wires that measure just three atoms wide while remaining strong and very bendy. Since there are already transistors and memory gates made out of the same material, Lin envisions circuits and whole devices that are paper-thin, yet can stand up to abuse; in the long run, he envisions rollable tablets and TVs that could fit in your pocket. The technique could help produce 3D circuitry, too. We're still a long way from either of those becoming practical realities, but the discovery at least shows that they're technically possible.
Fujifilm's flexible Beat speaker diaphragm lets us roll up the rhythm
While there's been no shortage of rollable displays, rollable speakers are rare -- the softness needed for a bendy design is the very thing that would usually neuter the sound. Fujifilm's new Beat diaphragm manages to reconcile those seemingly conflicting requirements. The surface depends on a polymer that stays soft when the surface is being curled or folded, but hardens when subjected to the 20Hz to 20kHz audio range we'd expect from a speaker. Piezoelectric ceramics, in turn, provide the sound itself. The Beat system doesn't have any known customers, but Fujifilm has already shown some creative possibilities such as a folding fan speaker or the portable, retractable unit shown above. If we ever see the day when we tuck a set of speakers into our pockets as neatly as we do our phones, we'll know who to thank.
Polymer Vision reportedly shut down, along with its dream of rollable e-ink displays
The saga of Polymer Vision has been defined by optimistic plans braced by second chances when financial reality came crashing in, with no happily ever after or definite end in sight. Unfortunately, there may not be much more of a story to tell. CTO Edzer Huitema claims that Wistron has shut down Polymer Vision entirely: while it's keeping the intellectual property behind the rollable display company it acquired in 2009, it has reportedly dismissed all associated staff after unsuccessful attempts to find a buyer. We've asked Wistron for a more formal confirmation and an explanation, and we'll let you know if there's an update. However, it's possible that Polymer Vision's technology was simply past its prime. As +Plastic Electronics notes, Polymer Vision and the Readius came at a time before mobile tablets and giant smartphones, when it wasn't clear that we would tolerate big screens in our pockets; while flexible displays are still in development, some of Polymer Vision's biggest advantages have faded away.
