Unless you're (for some reason) a fan of personal cinema headsets, you almost certainly haven't heard of Royole. That's OK -- founder and CEO Bill Liu wanted it that way. Unbeknownst to most of the world, Royole has quietly been working to pioneer an...
Flexible display technology company Royole is exhibiting at the CES 2019 its Flexible+ flexible display technology platform. The flexible displays can be used almost anywhere including clothing."...
Flexible display technology company Royole is exhibiting at the CES 2019 its Flexible+ flexible display technology platform. The flexible displays can be used almost anywhere including clothing."...
Samsung’s latest phone shows that it’s quit one rat race to join, or rather lead another. While companies around the world try hard to erase every ounce of bezel they can find, Samsung’s decided that the best way to make screens feel more expansive is by quite literally making bigger screens.
Under an extremely controlled environment at their annual conference, far from the crowds, and with lights so dim you could barely see the device (all one could see was the screen), Samsung announced its intention to launch a folding smartphone in just a matter of months, and debuted their folding screen technology, the Infinity Flex Display. The phone, let’s just called the Galaxy Infinity Flex (this isn’t the official name, but it sure sounds like it!), comes with two screens, a main foldable screen that folds inwards and a demo screen on the outside. Joining companies like Royole, Lenovo, and even Microsoft by putting its bets on the foldable display future, Samsung’s begun moving towards creating the most anticipated range of phones in quite some time (the bezel-killing spree can wait). The folding technology will essentially mean you can have a larger screen in your pocket, which is ultimately what everyone wants, right?
The foldable display also gives Android a new direction to work in. Developing an OS that supports flexible screens and that can adapt to folding displays by conveniently folding the UI along with it, Google is working hard along with Samsung to make the current iteration of Android work seamlessly with flexible displays. Samsung’s even encouraging developers to write apps for the nascent technology, and developed its own interface, called the One UI, in a bid to be the leader in folding displays. It’ll now be interesting to see two things. The consumer’s acceptance of a folding phone, and how this technology forces other companies (eyes on Apple) to make phones based on what consumers feel about #PurposefulBendgate!
You’re not looking at the Microsoft Andromeda, or the flexible phone Samsung has been rumoredly working on, or Logitech’s flexible phone. You’re looking at the Flexpai, a flexible phone/tablet from California-based Royole. The most interesting thing about the Flexpai is that it isn’t a proof-of-concept. The tablet/phone is literally available for pre-order.
The Flexpai comes with a foldable body and a display that sits on the outside when folded (rather than Microsoft’s Andromeda, where the screen folds inwards). What this means is that the Flexpai goes from single-screen mode to a dual-screen format when folded, with the spine acting as a notification area. You can run simultaneous apps on both screens, with touch working on literally both sides of the display, courtesy Flexpai’s WaterOS.
The screen comes as a large 4:3 7.8-inch display that folds to two 18:9 screens when divided in half. There’s also a 21:6 edge-screen for important notifications like incoming calls. The screen is designed to fold as much as 20,000 times without any damage (which should cover as much as 3 years of use if you fold and unfold the phone 20 times a day, every day). You’ve also got dual-cameras and fast-charging built in too, so there’s no cutting corners with the Flexpai, except maybe for the massive bezel on its one side.
The Flexpai is currently available only in China and costs roughly around $1,571 for the 128GB variant, which seems a little on the expensive side, but that’s the price you pay to be an early adopter of some very revolutionary tech. My advice? Hold off on it till the flexible display market becomes a little larger and more democratized. If you look at the GIF below of a hands-on, you’ll notice that the screen tends to warp a little bit around the spine, and that the transition from single to dual-screen is a little choppy. It’s still extremely impressive though, especially considering big players like Samsung and Microsoft are still trying to perfect the technology!
VR's not-so-meteoric rise has also revived interest in that most sci-fi of concepts: the personal cinema. A head-mounted display that lets you immerse yourself in a movie, blocking out the distractions of modern life. No matter if you're on a plane o...
For a brief moment in the hectic and crowded floor of CES, I escaped and watched a trailer for a "Fast and Furious" movie. No, I didn't sneak away into a theater (I wish) -- I simply donned the Royole-X, a new personal theater headset that's on displ...
Unless you're (for some reason) a fan of personal cinema headsets, you almost certainly haven't heard of Royole. That's OK -- founder and CEO Bill Liu wanted it that way. Unbeknownst to most of the world, Royole has quietly been working to pioneer an...
VR's not-so-meteoric rise has also revived interest in that most sci-fi of concepts: the personal cinema. A head-mounted display that lets you immerse yourself in a movie, blocking out the distractions of modern life. No matter if you're on a plane o...
For a brief moment in the hectic and crowded floor of CES, I escaped and watched a trailer for a "Fast and Furious" movie. No, I didn't sneak away into a theater (I wish) -- I simply donned the Royole-X, a new personal theater headset that's on displ...