We have seen rollable phone concepts for several years now, including some from TCL in 2019 and again in 2021. Oppo also showed off a rollable phone concept in 2020. Most notably, LG was rumored to be developing a rollable phone that was planned to actually go on sale in 2021. Of course, LG decided instead to shut down its mobile phone division entirely that same year.
Now, just ahead of the Mobile World Congress 2023 trade show, another company is "rolling in" with its own rollable phone prototype. Lenovo-owned Motorola showed off the Motorola rizr phone to Android Authority. The big difference in this smartphone is that, unlike previous rollable phones that extended the screen to the side, this device rolls from the back and the bottom to extend the phone"s display vertically.
The result is that the Motorola rizr (a clever modification of the company"s foldable Razr phone name) has a 5-inch POLED display with a 15:9 aspect ratio when the screen is rolled back. When fully rolled out, it becomes a phone with a 6.5-inch 22:9 display.
The outlet notes that the device can help people have a smaller phone when needed but offers an extended display for watching things like YouTube videos or typing emails on the keyboard. When the screen is tucked backward, it serves as a secondary screen for notifications, showing the date and time and offering weather info. You can also take pictures with the phone"s camera, and the back screen can show your subject a preview of what it will look like.
Unfortunately, this is still a concept phone, so there"s no word on when, or even if, Motorola will actually release a version of the rizr to the general public. However, the idea of a phone"s display rising up from the back and bottom is certainly interesting and could signal a new resurgence in this kind of smartphone design.
Source: Android Authority