Move over foldables, here come rollable phones

Raymond Wong Jan. 11, 2021 CES 2021 Kicking off CES 2021, LG teased a new smartphone with a rollable display called the LG Rollable. RIP foldables?

LG kicked off CES 2021 with a major tease: a rollable phone concept. Unlike Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 2 , which has a display that opens up into a tablet-sized screen, the LG Rollable phone slides open to expand.

In total, LG showed about 15 seconds of the rollable phone in action.

Just like the LG Wing , the LG Rollable is part of the Korean electronics giant's "Explorer Project," which is a "mobile category aimed at discovering new ways to interact with mobile devices, focusing on the evolving and ever-changing needs of today’s consumers and challenging established user norms." LG

And that's basically all we know. LG has not released any specs on the LG Rollable. Classic CES move!

It's not surprising LG's exploring smartphones with rollable displays. The company's been teasing its rollable TVs for years. Its $30,000 rollable TV.

LG is not the first company to announce a rollable concept . Last year, TCL introduced the form factor in its own concept device .

At CES 2021, TCL showed off its AMOLED rollable display tech. Looking more real now. Brad Molen / Twitter

Last fall, Oppo also announced its own rollable concept phone: the Oppo X 2021. The phone features a 6.7-inch display that expands to 7.4 inches.

“Although there is no plan for its commercialization in the short term, it will serve as a guide for the transformation and evolution of future product form.” Oppo via Android Authority Oppo

Vaporware until real

A rollable phone looks cool, but until somebody releases a real device that people can buy, it's vaporware. Also, it'll need to compete with foldables and um, swivel-ables . L told CNET , the Rollable phone will be available "later this year."

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