Chinese firm unveils foldable phone with flexible display

Customers try out the large-screen foldable devices launched by Royole Corp, a manufacturer of flexible displays and smart devices, during a press conference in Beijng, China, October 31.[Photo: IC]

You might have seen it in movie or concept phone exhibitions, but now it is coming to the real life.

On Wednesday, a Chinese tech company called Royole Corporation unveiled the FlexPai in Beijing, which is said to be the world's first commercial smartphone with a flexible display.

Installed with Android operating system, the phone is also a tablet when unfolded, which has a 7.8 inch display with a 1,920-by-1,440 resolution.

When you fold the phone, it is displayed with a screen in the front and in the back. The firm claims the device can bend over 200,000 times.

Customers try out the large-screen foldable devices launched by Royole Corp, a manufacturer of flexible displays and smart devices, during a press conference in Beijng, China, October 31.[Photo: IC]

The phone will start selling in China this December, with the base model starting at 8999 yuan, or some $1,291 US dollars.

Royole is not a well-known brand in China in the smartphone industry compared with Huawei and Vivo; however, the company has been working on flexible display technology over the past five years.

The company itself is actually headquartered in Fremont, California, but most of its employees are based in China, where it has a factory in Shenzhen.

Customers try out the large-screen foldable devices launched by Royole Corp, a manufacturer of flexible displays and smart devices, during a press conference in Beijng, China, October 31.[Photo: IC]

Customers try out the large-screen foldable devices launched by Royole Corp, a manufacturer of flexible displays and smart devices, during a press conference in Beijng, China, October 31.[Photo: IC]