Are you a believer in the future of foldable smartphones, but not quite convinced about what’s currently available in the market today? 

TCL, a brand best known for making high-end televisions for less, is looking to leverage its display expertise with 3 new experiments that not only hope to pave the way to a future that’s dominated by foldable, bendable, and rollable displays but also to create technology that’s not just novel, but also practical.

Pocketbook

We first saw TCL’s “pocketbook concept” (nicknames all my own) late last year but got our hands on a fully working model this January at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. 

A cross between the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Pro Duo – this concept device borrows the same horizontal fold idea, albeit wider on both sides. 

Its shape is reminiscent of a book, some have also compared it to a wallet or passport. 

When opened up, the two folded screens turn into a 7.2-inch tablet with a 2K AMOLED display, but its nothing more than that, at least in its current state. You can’t fold it in such a way that would transform it into a smartphone. 

There is no secondary display on the outside. Instead all you’ll find is a row of cameras and this lovely textured glass finish that makes it look like a multi-faceted precious gem.

This concept devices uses TCL’s new Butterfly Hinge that allows the the device to be folded shut without a visible gap in between.

Tri-fold

TCL’s tri-fold concept was born out of the desire for foldable displays to be used for even bigger screen experiences. So instead of just one fold, it folds into 3, transforming from a smartphone about the the size of a Nokia Communicator to that of a 10-inch tablet. 

It’s the first foldable concept we’ve seen with two separate hinges. One folds inward, the other outward. One side uses TCL’s Butterfly Hinge, the other an older hinge design TCL first showed off a full year ago called the Dragon Hinge – which forms an accordion like tear drop shape when folded shut. 

While it become one hefty smartphone when folded and doesn’t stay put as firmly as a regular tablet when unfolded, the idea of being able to fit a 10-inch tablet in your pocket is pretty amazing. 

TCL’s General Manage of Global Marketing Stefan Streit says, “the idea is to go in a direction where people won’t have to bring multiple devices.”     

Rollable display

Of all the design experiments, for me personally, the TCL’s rollable display is most exciting.  And that’s possibly because I’m still waiting for that smartphone that folds into a tube of lipstick like Samsung teased 7years ago.

Unlike the other two devices, or any other device that’s leveraged bendable display technology up to this point this TCL concept does neither has a hinge, nor does it fold. 

Instead, internal motors allow the display on what looks like a regular smartphone to expand to become a 7.8-inch tablet. Imagine physically stretching the phone apart to make it bigger and then squeezing it back together to shrink it. 

Instead of a hinge mechanism these motors furl and unfurl the rollable display, tucking part of the display away and out of sight when not needed. 

At our briefing we were only showed a mock up that you have to manually stretch yourself – but we were showed video of an actual working prototype that does this automatically with the push of a button.

Pricing and availability

TCL stresses none of these concepts are ready for primetime, and are instead investments in finding the best, most practical use cases of this technology. Streit calls it “a long term play” in TCL’s new smartphone business, which marks the launch of its new flagship lineup in the US this week. 

If and when TCL launches its own foldable or rollable smartphone – we’re told to expect it to be priced competitively, matching TCL’s philosophy of offering great displays at more affordable accessible prices.