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A California start-up claims it has created the world’s first foldable smartphone – where users can fold the device between a phone and a tablet size – that is ready to go on sale.
The FlexPai has been unveiled by the Royole Corporation as a way of “disrupting consumers’ traditional concept of a smartphone” and can be used either folded in half as a smartphone or unfolded as a tablet.
When folded the device supports dual screens that can carry out separate but simultaneous tasks, and can also be used bent at multiple viewing angles, such as a bedside alarm clock or to watch video.
Royole said its flexible screen technology has been put through rigorous testing – involving bending the display more than 200,000 times to ensure its durability.
The firm’s founder and chief executive Bill Liu said: “The Royole FlexPai foldable smartphone provides mobile phone users with a revolutionary, different experience compared to traditional phones.
“It perfectly solves the contradiction between the high-definition large-screen experience and portability, which introduces a whole new dimension to the human-machine interface.
“The phone’s inherent design will forever change the consumer electronics industry, as well as the way people interact with and perceive their world.”
The device runs the company’s own version of Android, called Water OS.
A number of high profile tech firms, including Samsung, Huawei and Lenovo are all said to be working on flexible display devices, but Royole says its device will be the first to market.
The company has started selling a developer model of the phone globally as well as a consumer model in China, with orders expected to begin arriving in late December, it said.
