LG rollable phone might never materialize following company's restructuring
What's the story
LG's exciting rollable phone project may have been put on ice according to the latest reports coming out of Korea. The ambitious project is rumored to have been halted after the company reportedly told BOE and other suppliers to put the project's development on hold. BOE is a prominent Chinese OEM that was one of the key players in the LG rollable phone project.
Course correction
LG reportedly asked suppliers to halt work on rollable phone
The phone bearing a rollable display was expected to release in March this year, but its future was uncertain after last month's reports indicating uncertainty surrounding the device. The rumors were spurred on by the news that LG might be in the process of cutting its losses in the mobile phone business. LG had addressed rumors about an impending sale in a company-wide email.
Promising concept
Rollable phones show potential to solve foldable phones' durability issues
The rollable phone was a part of LG's Explorer Project focusing on unique smartphone form factors, one of which was the quirky LG WING. The rumored phone approaches the flexible display concept differently by having the display roll in and out instead of bending outright like Samsung's Galaxy Fold series. The design has the potential of being more durable than its problematic foldable counterparts.
From the left field
Meanwhile, OPPO X 2021 rollable phone spotted in the wild
However, even as we speculate about LG's rollable phone, OPPO has somehow managed to lose one out in the wild. A French YouTuber Brandon LeProktor has got his hands on an actual OPPO X 2021 concept phone. Like the LG rollable phone, this expands into a tablet with the same sliding mechanism relying on the display's ability to roll into a tight space.
Future
LG or not, flexible displays can bring about paradigm shift
Irrespective of whether LG stays or leaves the smartphone business, competitors such as Samsung and OPPO will continue to push the envelope of flexible display technologies and experiment with non-standard smartphone form factors. Just like Apple had laid the foundation for modern smartphones with the original iPhone, flexible displays have a similar potential to bring about a paradigm shift in mobile phones.