An unknown California company presents the first smartphone-tablet hybrid with a screen that folds. The costs, however, are very high
Those who believed that it would be Samsung and Huawei who would compete for the palm of the first foldable smartphone manufacturer in the world are now forced to think again. The two giants of the hi-tech world have been anticipated by an unknown U.S. manufacturer (Royole Corporation, based in California) that has presented in Beijing its FlexPai.
The peculiarities of this smartphone, as you can imagine, are all in its factory form and in the technology used to make the displays. Shape and operation of the FlexPai, in fact, closely resemble those of the Axon M, a smartphone made by ZTE and presented in mid-2018, but the technology of the displays is completely different. While the "foldable" smartphone of the Chinese manufacturer is composed of two screens joined by a hinge, the FlexPai has a single OLED panel that folds without breaking. In short, it is a unique device of its kind. At least until Samsung will not present its Galaxy X or Huawei will launch its new top of the range with 5G connectivity.
How is FlexPai, the world's first smartphone with flexible display
According to information coming from China, the FlexPai has top of the range technical features. Inside the shell, in fact, should find space the Snapdragon 8150 (which should be marketed from the first half of 2019 under the name of Snapdragon 855), accompanied by 6 gigabytes of RAM (and 128 gigabytes of storage space) or 8 gigabytes of RAM (and 256 gigabytes of storage space). On the other hand, the photo compartment should consist of a dual camera with 16 and 20 megapixel sensors. There is no lack of support for fast charging, while the operating system will be Android 9 Pie with Water OS custom interface.
A separate speech deserves the display, the real gem of the FlexPai. Although the bezels are more pronounced than what various manufacturers have accustomed us to throughout 2018, the FlexPai's screen could be a first for the entire mobile phone industry. When the device is closed, it features a dual display (one on the front and one on the back) with a 4-inch diagonal and active edge; when it opens, however, the user will have a single 7.8-inch screen. In short, a kind of smartphone-tablet hybrid that could become a constant from the second half of 2019.
Availability and Price FlexPai
Given the technical data sheet of the FlexPai, we should not be surprised if the list prices are particularly high. At the moment, the device will be available for purchase only on some Chinese ecommerce, but its commercialization in Europe and North America is not ruled out as early as the first months of 2019. Prices, as we said, are high: in China is on sale with costs ranging from 1,400 to 1,650 euros, but it is not excluded that they are tweaked upward at the time of landing at our latitudes.