Here’s LG’s Expanding ‘Rollable’ Phone From CES

LG’s answer to the Galaxy Z Fold has a screen that extends rather than unfolding.

By Sascha Segan

LG teased an extending “LG Rollable” phone with a rollable screen during its CES press conference yesterday, showing a phablet where part of the bezel detaches so the screen extends to the size of a small tablet.

We didn’t learn anything more about this product, which has been rumored and teased before. As Android Authority notes, LG did a similar tease around its LG Wing launch event, and LetsGoDigital has found relevant patent filings for a “roll-slide mobile terminal” with an extending screen.

The expanding phone will likely be part of LG’s “explorer project,” the company’s ambitious bet on wild form factors which started with the swiveling LG Wing. Android Authority suggests that the expanding phone will come out around March 2021.LG is still the third-largest smartphone seller in the US, but it has had real trouble maintaining mindshare. Apple and Samsung sell most phones here, while Google and OnePlus have passionate online fan bases which let them bat far beyond their own market share. Even with innovative projects like the Wing and some of the first 5G phones in the US, LG’s efforts tend to fall through the cracks of the discourse.

We don’t know much else about this device, but we’re sure to hear more in the upcoming months.

Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com.