The wait for the world’s first foldable phone is now a reality, with the honors going to a little known Chinese company, Royole Corp. The company unveiled a device that when folded will make for a phone but will transform into an iPad sized tablet when opened.
The device named FlexiPai will also be the largest in its class with a 7.8-inch display in its folded state. Definite specifications are lacking though the company said it would be a high-resolution display that users will get to have. Another unique aspect of the FlexiPai is that it will come with three distinct displays in its folded state, one on the top, on the bottom and another along the spine of the phone.
Also, the display size isn’t the only aspect that is big with FlexiPai as it is also priced quite steep. The cheapest models will come for 8999 yuan, while the top-end model will retail for 12,999 yuan depending on the memory and storage configuration. Unfortunately, the exact specifications are a mystery as of now though it’s known the phone is going to run on Android while there is going to be a 6 GB RAM and 128 GB of storage on one of the models. Also, the device is known to weigh 320 grams, which is understandable considering that FlexiPai is, in fact, a tablet in the guise of a phone.
Also, while Royole might be a newcomer when it comes to smartphones, it still has considerable experience manufacturing super thin flexible displays. The company also said the FlexiPai will be durable enough to withstand over 200,000 screen bends when opening and closing the device. This should also ensure the phone will be in operation for 2 – 3 years at least without suffering any damages to the display or its internals.
https://twitter.com/UniverseIce/status/1057568515324952577
Meanwhile, the launch of the foldable phone has also taken the entire tech world by surprise considering that many had expected such a device from the more well-known brands. Samsung, for one, was widely expected to launch a foldable phone during its event scheduled on Nov. 7 though that seems unlikely given that things seem unusually quiet on that aspect. Huawei too was believed to be in the race to launch the first foldable phone though none of that happened.
Royole meanwhile has stated they would be holding three flash sales on Nov. 1 with the delivering slated to begin in December.
