Grace Kay
- LG shared a brief look at the LG Rollable smartphone that features an expanding screen.
- While the company has yet to provide any specific details regarding the project, it teased the phone in a video for the Consumer Electronics Show.
- Foldable phones, which rollable phones will compete against, are among the priciest smartphones on the market.
- At the event, LG also debuted transparent OLED screens and a bendable TV.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Korean tech giant LG released footage of one of its concept projects on Monday morning – a rollable phone.
Aside from being called the LG Rollable, not much is known for now aside from the fact the phone exists. LG is not sharing any details or information outside of what was shown during the press conference, a company spokesperson told Insider.
The video shown during the virtual CES event features glimpses of the phone screen scrolling out to reveal an expanded display, similar to LG’s rollable television – a product that rolls into a box with the press of a button. Like the LG Rollable smartphone, LG’s rollable TV was teased at CES in past years.
You can watch the device expand in the video below, the LG Rollable is shown shortly after the 2-minute mark.
Phone companies increasingly eye foldable and rollable screens
The LG Rollable may not be the first rollable phone to hit the market. There have been rumors of Samsung using similar technology to create a rollable phone and Oppo also debuted a rollable concept phone in November. Rollable phones present a solution to the creased screens of foldable devices.
A number of companies have moved toward the compact design of foldable phones in the past few years. Samsung, Microsoft, and Motorola were among some of the first tech companies to design smartphones with expanded screens that could be folded up into a smaller size.
Foldable phones are also among some of the most pricey products on the market. Devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 2, Motorola Razr 2020, and Microsoft Surface Duo range anywhere between $1,400 and $2,000. The LG Rollable could easily fall within this price range, but for now the company is staying quiet on any future pricing or availability.
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At the event, LG teased several other new products, including a transparent screen and a bendable television. The transparent OLED monitor features 40% transparency, a design that allows viewers to see through the monitor even when the display is turned on. Similarly, the bendable TV allows a more immersive experience as viewers can change their perspective by bending the screen into a curve or flattening it back out.