Today, it is showing off its eye-catching prototypes at the show. The company just unveiled a concept device called the Ultra Flex, a phone with a rotating hinge and a flexible display that bends along with it. This thing can be folded into itself as well as out towards the world.
Since the screen has to undergo more flexing than those that only bend one way, this is a technically challenging proposition. The strip above the hinge would probably suffer the most stress.
The unit we saw in New York never turned on because it was so prone to breaking. The 8-inch, 2,480 x 1,860 PLP AMOLED screen was disappointingly dark. We can only take their word for it.
The display was one of the engineering challenges for this prototype. Most of the movement was smooth until the screen was close to touching. It made noises that felt like it was crunching cereals. The details of how the display and hinge work are confidential at the moment. The prototype is not close to being a real product.
Why would we want a device that folds both ways? The benefits of both inward-folding devices like the Z Fold and those that bend inwards like the first Mate X foldable would be offered by the company. If you have a panel that folds out, you can give a preview for your camera subjects to see how they look while you frame them up, for example. It appears that the style of foldable might not be very feasible given thatHuawei has adopted a different approach.
I liked the Ultra Flex prototype's blue finish and mock quad-camera array on the back. A slot on the bottom left of the design indicates the possibility of an onboard stylus being included.
We got to see the company's concept device in person for the first time since it was unveiled last year. This is a foldable phone that uses a motorized mechanism that, at the push of a button, unfurls more of its screen to make an 8.8-inch canvas. The prototype felt like asking a dog to sit, like the Ultra Flex. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, and sometimes the mechanism wouldn't whir, but the screen wouldn't move.
The screen was working on this device. The Fold was stuck on the lock screen for the first half of the demo session. It unlocked and showed the home screen of the phone, but refused to register any taps. As I jabbed at the screen, I watched the prototype do nothing and launch a grand total of zero apps. It reminded me of the panel on the Razr that was detached from the rest of the roll, like a piece of tape stuck to itself and no longer adhering to the rest of the roll.
The only thing it did was to change the aspect ratio and size of the screen to match the new width when the additional screen had finished rolling in or out. At this point, I was too impressed by a feature that should be expected, rather than a bonus, because I was so happy that something worked.
Is these prototypes buggy? Yes. Was I interested in them? Also, yes. As non-foldable smartphone hardware matures and stagnates, we all love being distracted by interesting new form factors and product types. Who knows what other shapes foldables might evolve into as they continue to interest us.
The company hasn't said if these prototypes are worth pursuing and turning into actual products, but it has promised that it will launch a foldable phone that costs hundreds less than the competition. Last year we saw a canceled product called Chicago. It's very similar to the GALAXY Z flip 3, though with a different screen and camera setup, as well as a slightly more textured finish. I was impressed by how nice this looked in person, and the hinge felt less resistant than the Z Flip 3. All of the prototypes and concepts are still aspirational. I understand that there are global supply issues that could be in the way, but at this point it feels like TCL has been teasing us for a long time.
You can get all of the news from the conference right here.
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