With foldable phones already more or less standardized, the next step in the industry is, foldable phones: those that can increase the size of your screen by opening a plastic screen. This is something Motorola has already made public of its commitment and has now allowed us to see it within the framework of MWC 2023.

Leaked for almost a year and first shown on video four months ago, This Motorola prototype shows off a phone with the ability to rotate and unlock its screen depending on what the user needs, but also contextually.

4 to 6.5 inches

Born as part of Lenovo’s investment in flexible OLED displays, this prototype gives these panels more direction by making them rollable. Other prototypes like Oppo or LG have already been canceled due to the shutdown of the phone division; They are opened laterally. In the Motorola example, the expansion is vertical.

Allowed by the flexible OLED panel -or pOLED- which makes the device (without specifications, prices or announced launch dates, we insist conceptually) a little over 4 inches in height, Well below the current standard of the Android market; Being able to scale up to 6.5 inches is well in line with what most of the current Android market has to offer.

The main focus of this device is very similar to that of the foldable Galaxy Z Flip4: keeping the dimensions suitable for pockets and small hands, and expanding it to a “wide” diagonal only when necessary.

In this sense, the user can activate vertical expansion by double-pressing the side—the wallpaper will act as part of the expand effect—but the device also executes itself when it realizes it is necessary. For example if we are watching a full screen video.

Lenovo’s demo showed how you don’t need a locally stored video instead. It even works with a YouTube video. If the phone is held vertically it will do nothing. If we decide to see it full screen, the panel will start to open.

Also worth mentioning is how a curled part of the unused screen is visible on the back. Being an OLED panel and being aware of the autonomy that the motors responsible for turning the screen on and off will consume, perhaps the logical and expected thing would be that all pixels in the invisible area remain off to extend the autonomy. Stop.

The Motorola roll-up prototype, in its contractual position, has very unusual dimensions in today’s smartphones. Image: Xataka.

The bottom edge of the Motorola prototype has a translucent casing that reveals panel lighting in its curvature. Image: Xataka.

However, if Motorola decides to reveal this piece tomorrow with the arrival of a commercial device, perhaps it would make sense to think of a panel piece with its own utility as a small screen or use it as a tool to provide contextual information. mirror to take selfies with rear cameras with higher quality than front cameras.

When will this be released? It’s a prototype, so we don’t even know for sure if it will hit the market.. Given the progress Lenovo has had and the fact that it has decided to show it to MWC 2023 and going strong, it’s normal for it to arrive, but its arrival is not official and there is no approximate price. an idea of ​​the tag that will come hanging

Featured image: Xataka.