Skip to main content

Check out this unique TCL concept phone that folds and rolls

As sales of foldables soar, we expect more smartphone vendors to compete with Samsung in the segment, even though it may be a tough fight. Chinese companies like Oppo and Vivo are rumored to be launching new foldables soon. Meanwhile, TCL isn’t holding back either. It has showcased an amazing concept phone that rolls and folds, thus becoming a phone, tablet, or a phablet as and when needed.

TCL displayed a foldable and rollable phone concept during the DTC 2021 technology congress in China. You can see the smartphone in action in the below video.

TCL Fold and Slide 10"

The video showcases the supercool design in action. As the screen unfolds, the left part is extended by pressing a button and transforms into a full-fledged tablet.

As of now, the graphics of the phone’s display seem to be poor. You can observe that when the phone rolls out or rolls back in, it takes a few seconds to optimize the display. It would take a lot of software optimizations even if the hardware is ready to go into production soon.

Going by TCL’s history, we don’t expect the company to make it a commercial product. In the past, the company has announced plans to release foldables, but ended up canceling the launch. However, this is a new device and seems like it could one-up the competition with its unique rollable-foldable design.

Not much is known about the specifications of the device at the moment. The concept phone is said to have an OLED panel with high refresh rates up to 240Hz. The TCL foldable and rollable device is unlikely to be available for customers anytime soon.

Editors' Recommendations

Prakhar Khanna
Prakhar writes news, reviews and features for Digital Trends. He is an independent tech journalist who has been a part of the…
For a $1,700 folding phone, the OnePlus Open has one big flaw
OnePlus Open in Emerald Dusk showing camera bump.

OnePlus has been doing a lot of cool stuff lately. Thee company released its first tablet, the OnePlus Pad, earlier this year, and it just launched its first folding phone, the OnePlus Open.

Though folding phones continue to be a small niche in the overall smartphone market, they’ve been growing in popularity recently. And there are a few reasons why one would want a foldable: a convenient larger screen when you need it and a small screen when you don’t, easier multitasking, and more.

Read more
You’ve never seen a folding flip phone with a screen like this
The Tecno Phantom V Flip, with other folding phones.

Who says cover screens have to be square or oblong? Tecno has announced the Tecno Phantom V Flip folding phone, and we haven't seen a cover screen like it before — at least, not on a smartphone.

Tecno has put what looks like a smartwatch on the front of its flip phone, and it’s one of the most unusual designs we’ve seen on a foldable yet.
A cover screen unlike anything else

Read more
Check out this old news report of when Apple released the first iPhone
Apple's first iPhone.

The first iPhone 15 customers are already heading to Apple Stores in Australia and Asia to pick up the new device, or are having it delivered to their door.

Apple’s new handset range comprises the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Pricing starts at $799 and tops out at $1,599 -- but it’ll cost even more if you opt for a case, a screen cover, and AppleCare.

Read more