We continue to review the proofs of concept we see at MWC 2023, and now it’s the turn of the Motorola Rizr, a prototype introduced by the company during the fair, bringing back to the fore a technology that seemed to have hit a dead end before it took off, the rolling screen technology that seemed to have been phased out due to the greater prevalence of folding screens. industry. And it is great news to see that this is not the case.

The device shown by Motorola displays a fairly compact screen by default five inches with a 15:9 aspect ratio. However, when you open certain apps, perform certain gestures, or change the orientation of the phone, the phone will mechanically slide out to reach 6.5 inches with a 22:9 aspect ratio. So we find ourselves with the design of a small terminal that, if we wish, can be scaled to a more standard size in the style of what foldable devices such as Motorola Razr and Samsung Galaxy Flip offer.

Since this is a prototype, the company has not revealed more information about this Motorola Rizr, which takes its name from the model of the same name that Motorola launched in 2006 and which shared some design elements with the Motorola Razr. for a slide-out keyboard hidden behind the screen, a fairly common pattern at the time. At that time, and as can be deduced from the name and design, the brand wanted to repeat the success of the first Razr, but this model remained in the discreet background.

As with other proofs of concept we see at Mobile World Congress 2023, we have to consider that there is no guarantee that these devices will eventually reach the marketand even less that they will in the short term. However, they express companies’ interest in certain technologies, so although the Motorola Rizr that Lenovo is showing today does not become a commercial model, it tells us that there are more possibilities than we could have thought until yesterday. the scrolling screen finally became a reality.

There are several challenges to finally make this possible. As with the first folding screens, rolling screens face a big question: its reliability and durability. Technology companies must be able to ensure, as they already do with folding screens, the durability of the screens in daily use with an estimated lifespan in the order of tens or hundreds of thousands of rolled-unfolded times.

Other challenges are the appearance of a motor that rolls up and unfolds the screen when the mobile phone battery is charged, the cost of manufacturing screens and motors, the reliability of mechanical elements… the list is long, so we should not count on the arrival of the Motorola Rizr in the market in the short term. However, in a world where the future of mobile devices seemed to be foldable, seeing the scrolling format still lives on is undoubtedly great news.