The First Foldable Smartphone

 

The world’s first foldable smartphone is here and surprisingly it isn’t a Samsung.

The Chinese display maker, Royole, has created the FlexPai (pronounced Flex-pie) a foldable smartphone that you can actually buy, beating the likes of Samsung and LG who were generally favoured to release the world’s first foldable phones.

Of course, for those who have been waiting for a bendy smartphone this news is very exciting. But, despite the device’s flexibility being way ahead of the game, the software is said to struggle to keep up with the flexible nature of the device.

However, the smartphone's specs are pretty impressive with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8150 processor paired with 6GB or 8GB RAM. There are also dual cameras on the device, comprising of 16MP and 20MP sensors.

The device has a display of 7.8-inches in tablet form and shrinks down to 4-inches when folded in half, which makes it is roughly the same size as a tablet and smartphone. However, when folded it is very chunky and a little awkward to hold.

The display is made of plastic, which Royole says makes it virtually unbreakable and much more scratch resistant than glass displays. They have also said that the display can withstand 200,000 folds before it starts to degrade. Yet, it is still quite an ugly handset with a large top edge bezel that holds the cameras.

Although the FlexPai is very gimmicky and not the prettiest smartphone in the world, it is still rather impressive from an engineering point of view.

The smartphone is available for pre-order now and will set you back £1,209 for the 128G model or £1,349 for the 256G. The FlexPai will begin shipping in late December.

The device is the world’s first foldable smartphone; however, it is rumoured that Samsung may be announcing the Galaxy X this week, which will definitely steal the limelight away from the FlexPai.

Check out the promo video below: