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As always, LG is the first to officially kick things off at CES with its press event, showing off quite a few new products that will be making their way into people’s homes later this year. LG typically doesn’t show off new smartphone tech at CES and they didn’t make any mobile announcements during the press event, but that didn’t stop them from teasing the upcoming LG Rollable smartphone.
During the opening of Jin-hong Kim’s (SVP, Head of LG’s Global Marketing Center) presentation, the scene was shown through a smartphone which expands from a smartphone to a tablet. Unfortunately, all we know about the device and its expandable display is based on what LG showed in the video for 5 seconds. LG has not yet shared any details regarding the phone’s specifications, the display technology, or the mechanical hardware they are using to allow the phone to expand.
The only thing we know is that LG has confirmed to Engadget that the devices will be known as the LG Rollable when it eventually hits the market… whenever that is. A few LG Rollable rumors have been circulating since November of 2020, claiming that the device will make its official debut in March of this year.
One thing we know for sure is that the LG Rollable is visually more compelling than the Samsung Galaxy Fold. Seeing a phone expand from its regular 21/9 aspect ratio to a 16:10 tablet seems almost magical. Based on our calculations, the area of the screen increases by 55% when the LG Rollable expands from a smartphone to a tablet.
While the LG Rollable teaser leaves us with more questions than answers, LG has been experimenting with rollable displays for a few years now. In 2019 and 2020, LG showed off rollable TVs. Other companies have also been experimenting with rollable display technologies with similar form factors to the LG Rollable. The first one we saw from TCL in early 2020 and Oppo revealed its concept rollable smartphone towards the end of 2020.
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