A largely unknown American manufacturer has beaten Samsung to become the world’s first foldable smartphone maker. Several big manufacturers including LG, Microsoft, Huawei, and Samsung have seen leaks of their prototype foldable devices online.
Some days ago, in fact, Samsung held an event to display their soon-to-be-released foldable device which would be a hybrid device. The foldable smartphone would be capable of being used as a tablet when necessary.
Back to the subject, the Royole FlexPai was designed by a Fremont, California based company. The device debuted in Beijing, China in October 2018. As a hybrid device itself (phone-tablet), the Royole FlexPai is already available in China for developers as they keep working on apps and integration.
It is worthy to note that the company has spent more than $30m on developer support.
The Royole FlexPai will be market ready come December through Chinese service provider China Mobile. Nonetheless, those in the UK and the US can pre-order the Royole FlexPai developer’s model which would also be shipping come December.
Before we go to deep into more details about the Royale FlexPai, let’s give you a bit-by-bit review of the world’s first foldable smartphone-tablet.
Screen Resolution / Display
The hybrid mobile device has a bendable 7.8-inch screen and spots a flexible plastic. The AMOLED screen is capable of producing image quality of 1440p resolution. There is a hinge that runs through the back of the device which enables the bending of the device in half as though you are closing a book.
The screen produces vibrant colours and the hinge providing the bend from phone to tablets is quite sturdy. Whichever way you hold the Royole FlexPai, it adjusts to different viewing angles and orientations.
Dimension
The device looks thick and may be too bulky to be held as a smartphone. Aesthetically speaking, the device still looks as a prototype rather than a finished consumer-ready product.
The thickness of the Royole FlexPai makes it hard to hold and is light years back compared to the slim smartphones of today.
Bendable Screen
The device can be propped up and bent, or close altogether. By closing the device, it will snap with embedded magnets. This way, it would function as any other mobile phone. Depending on the side of the screen you hold it, the screen ratio can either be 16:9 or 16:8.
The bendability of the device means it is quite hard swiping through the screen and tapping on the screen without the phablet registering unintended touches thanks to the sides of the screen.
Camera
The camera of a device is one of the major things people look at when considering the purchase of such a device. Royole FlexPai has two cameras – a 16 MP wide-angle lens and a 20MP telephoto lens. The design is quite similar to the ZTE Axon M flip phone. The two cameras act as both front-facing and rear cameras.
Software, Processor and Battery
The Royole FlexPai is layered on Google Android Pie 9.0 and runs on Water OS.
The device has a 2.8GHz octa-core Snapdragon chip. It also comes with a 3,800 mAh battery with the fast charging capability – Royole’s proprietary mobile charging technology – named Ro charge.
Storage
The device comes in two RAM and ROM variants. There is the 6GB RAM / 128 GB ROM variant, and you also have the 8GB RAM / 256 ROM variant.
More Features
The device comes with a fingerprint scanner and has dual SIM capabilities. It also comes with a USB Type C port, meaning it can charge via USB Type C, send and receive files, and much more. Like many 2018 phones, the Royole FlexPai doesn’t have a headphone jack.
Pricing and Availability
Despite the launch in October, the Royole FlexPai won’t be available until December when it would start rolling out to consumers in China. For those in the United States and the United Kingdom, you can preorder the developer’s model of the device. The 6GB/128GB would sell at a starting price of N474,480, while the 8GB/256GB would sell at a starting price of N528,840.
Conclusion
We will witness an influx of foldable screens form the likes of Microsoft, LG, and Samsung come 2019. Huawei is rumoured to be working on a foldable smartphone that will have 5G connectivity. LG is also working on a foldable TV that can be packed into a small box. The presence of tech giants in the foldable screen will give Royole FlexPai a stiff competition.
However, we still have to wait for these prophecies to come into reality. As of today, Royole FlexPai is the first foldable smartphone in the world. Although the device would need further iterations, the fact that it can be folded more than 200,000 times makes it a durable gadget.
