TCL is displaying its 6.7 inch rollable phone.
TCL
This story is part of CES, where our editors will present the latest news and the hottest gadgets from CES 2021 entirely virtual.
LG is not the only major electronics manufacturer experimenting with rollable devices. In your CES press conference on Monday, TCL once again showed an update of its rollable in action, releasing a new video of the expanding and retracting concept device in the hands of a woman.
Not much is known about the device, but Tiago Abreu of TCL, head of “X-Lab” at TCL’s Industrial Design Center, says in the video that it can go from a 6.7 inch phone to a 7 tablet, 8 inches with “a simple touch of the finger.” Abreu says the user interface will adapt to the change, although it hasn’t shown exactly what it looks like.
Judging by the video, the back of the TCL device can be highly reflective, as the video shows the woman turning the device on to apply lipstick, apparently using the phone as a mirror.
The TCL’s scrollable device can apparently function as a mirror.
TCL
TCL had sparked a rollable concept last year, but it was largely limited to only fictional prototypes.
Stefan Streit, general manager of global marketing for TCL’s phone business, told CNET that the company will launch a flexible screen phone in 2021, although he has not confirmed whether it would be a foldable or scrollable device.
TCL printed OLED scroll display concept.
TCL
In addition to the roll-up phone, Abreu also announced a new 17-inch printed OLED scroll screen that can be unfurled and features a “100% color gamut”. He says the new screen technology, from TCL CSOT, can be “widely applied to flexible TVs, curved and foldable screens, as well as transparent commercial screens”.
In a series of tweets on Monday afternoon, TCL spokesman Brad Molen shared videos of real-life prototypes of the rollable and scrolling displays.