[CES 2021] Five-second public video of’LG Rollable’, which has attracted more attention than TV…Shall we catch Samsung’s’foldable phone’

Input 2021.01.12 06:00

‘LG Rollable’ without veil… Appeared in the beginning and finishing of the conference
Revealing the front and actual driving appearance… Screen stretched from 6.8 inches to 7.4 inches
Released in a separate event within the first quarter and then released in May

LG Electronics (066570)At the’CES 2021 Opening Event’ held online on the 11th, the first physical and running appearance of the company’s first rollable phone’LG Rollable’ was revealed for about 5 seconds. Although it was in a short video, I could see the innovative technology of the rollable phone. Interest is focused on whether it can surpass Samsung Electronics”foldable phone’ in the next-generation smartphone form factor (form factor) competition.

LG Rollable is a new form factor smartphone with a rolled up screen. It is the result of the second project of the’Explorer Project’, LG Electronics’ new smartphone strategy following’LG Wing’.

Normally, you use the same as your existing smartphone, but when you need a large screen, you can open the screen rolled up on one side and use it like a tablet PC. It is nicknamed’Sangsomun Phone’ because it is similar to the one that rolled up appeals in the past. In the smartphone industry, which has been stagnant in innovation for the past several years, it is expected that LG Rollables will become a new breakthrough in the market along with Samsung Electronics’ Z-fold series.

Accordingly, in the industry, interest in the rollable phone was more concentrated than the TV that LG Electronics will newly unveil. This teaser video of LG Rollerball is a setting that someone watches the main video of the press conference with LG Rollerball. After a bar-shaped smartphone was unfolded and expanded as wide as a tablet PC, the press conference began.

The rollable phone first appeared with LG Electronics President Kwon Bong-seok carrying it in person. On the screen, Jin-hong Kim, executive director of LG Electronics Global Marketing Center, is holding LG Electronics’ CES 2021 media conference. At the end of the video, the unfolded screen rolled in, signaling the end of the conference. ‘More to Explore’ at the conclusion of the conference informs us that this product is the result of the second project of the’Explorer Project’.

Unfortunately, other than the LG Rollable design, specific release timing, price, and specifications were not disclosed.

LG Electronics is expected to hold a separate public event in the first quarter of this year and introduce its products as early as possible. It was reported that the release date was influential around March as early as this, but the schedule was postponed to the second quarter as it was judged that it was not ahead of the rollable phone released by Oppo in China earlier in technology.

It is reported that the schedule has been postponed to the second quarter, as it is judged that it is not ahead in technology compared to the rollable phone released by Oppo of China earlier. Regardless of whether or not a prototype is released, LG Electronics is expected to commercialize and release rollable phones faster than Oppo.

An official in the telecommunications industry said, “LG Rollable seems to have been delayed from its initial release in the first quarter to the second quarter, from April to May, due to a technical supplement problem.”

Currently, LG Rollable’s known specifications are said to be expandable to 7.4 inches (1600×2428) by expanding the screen to the default 6.8 inches (1080×2428). It used an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel from BOE, a Chinese display company.

Product aspect ratios are implemented in 20:9, 16:9, 3:2, etc., and Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 AP (application processor), 16GB RAM (RAM), and 4200mAh (milliamps) large-capacity battery are expected to be installed.

The key to success for rollable phones is price. It is expected that the rollable phone will be released at a higher price than the foldable as it was developed after years of enormous development cost. Accordingly, it is expected that the initial quantity will not exceed 1 million units.

According to Tron, the IT information tipster (leader), the factory price of LG Rollable products is estimated to be about $2359 (about 2.57 million won), which is higher than that of Samsung foldable phones. However, just as the price of foldable phones is gradually decreasing through production expansion and popularization, it is observed that the production cost of rollable phones will gradually decrease.

According to the market research firm Display Supply Chain Consulting (DSCC)’s quarterly report on foldable and rollable display shipment and technology, the size of the foldable and rollable phone market is expected to grow at an annual average of 80% until 2025, reaching $1 billion last year.