TCL's rollable concept phone brings back the slider

At least this time it's a working model.
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TCL's rollable concept phone brings back the slider
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So many rollable smartphones at CES 2021, so little time.

Following a sneak peek of LG's Rollable phone during its company keynote, TCL unveiled a similar concept phone of its own.

Full specs have yet to be confirmed, but TCL did share a few details about its rollable phone. In addition to a demo video that briefly showcases the phone's build, TCL also revealed that the phone can expand from a "compact" 6.7-inch display all the way up to 7.8-inches by simply pressing a button.

If a rollable TCL concept phone sounds familiar, that's because it's not the only one of its kind. TCL announced a rollable concept phone last year as well, but that one wasn't a working model and it also extended horizontally rather than vertically.

This latest TCL concept is reminiscent of those old-school slider phones that would expand to reveal a keypad. It may even inspire smartphone brands to bring that design back in 2021.

With the previous iteration, TCL explained there was a small pushrod motor built-in that moved the display out when triggered by gesture controls. So it's safe to assume the company built upon similar technology for this latest version.

Again, this is a concept phone, which means it's possible that it might never go into production. But knowing that this year's version is an actual working model gives me hope that a rollable TCL phone is closer than we think.

Topics CES


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