“Better than a folding foldable phone” Will LG Rollable become a game changer?

The’LG Rollable’, which was first unveiled at the’Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021′, which opened online on the 11th (local time), is drawing the attention of the global information and communication technology (ICT) industry. Although the real video of the LG rollable phone was released for about 5 seconds, it is also receiving favorable reviews from IT media.

In the video released by LG Electronics that day, there is a scene where a man is watching a rectangular smartphone (rollable phone). As the screen on the back of this smartphone gradually unfolds, it grows as wide as a tablet PC. In related industries and foreign media, the form factor (appearance of the product) is said to be better than the foldable phone, which is another representative of the next generation smartphone. Foldable phones in the form of folding and unfolding the screen have wrinkles in the folds of the two screens due to the structure. The rollable phone does not get wrinkled because it is a method of rolling and unfolding the screen. Phone Arena, an American IT media, reported that “Rollables have to maintain a certain tension even on large displays, and LG Rollables can avoid the awkward display wrinkles found on foldable phones.”

LG Electronics did not disclose specific specifications, prices, and launch timings other than the appearance of the rollable phone. The information known so far is about 6.8 inches before the screen size is unfolded, and about 7.4 inches when unfolded. It was announced in December last year when Google and LG Electronics unveiled an emulator for a rollable smartphone (a device designed to copy device characteristics or run the same) on the Android developer site. An official in the IT industry said, “Because developers need to know the emulator to develop initial rollable phone applications (apps), only minimal information has been disclosed.”

In related industries, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 is expected to be installed as an application processor (AP) for LG Rollable Phones. The Snapdragon 888 is considered to be the best among Qualcomm’s APs, and it is said to be installed in Samsung Electronics’ new Galaxy S21. In addition, the LG Rollable is expected to be equipped with 16GB of RAM and a 4300mAh battery. All are premium.

In the industry, it is predicted that LG Electronics will release the rollable phone in the first half of the year after revealing the actual rollable phone in March. Already in November of last year, Oppo of China introduced the world’s first rollable phone,’Opo X 2021,’ ahead of LG Electronics. An official in the telecommunications industry said, “LG, which is trying to lead the innovation of the form factor of smartphones, cannot delay the release date as much,” and “I know that preparations are already completed and only some technology needs to be supplemented.” US IT media The Verge reported that “the rollable phones of other smartphone makers have not yet passed the concept and experimental stage,” and “the possibility of LG’s rollable phones in the market soon increased.”

The price is expected to be over 2300 dollars (about 2.25 million won). This is because the rollable display has not yet been commercialized, so the price is high, and the installed specifications are the highest-end specifications. The factory price of Samsung Electronics foldable phone was about 2.5 million won. Meanwhile, according to the market research company Display Supply Chain Consulting (DSCC), the size of the foldable and rollable phone market, which stood at $1 billion last year (about KRW 1 trillion), is expected to grow at an annual average of 80% until 2025.

Reporter Choi Hyun-joo [email protected]