TCL displays range of foldable concepts for smartphones

Tri-fold and rollable extendable displays at the forefront

TCL is continuing its push into the smartphone space in 2020 by highlighting a range of foldable concepts.

The world’s second-largest TV manufacturer has more than three dozen foldable prototypes currently in development. Chief among these are its tri-fold design (early Quality Control version pictured above) and a rollable extendable phone (dummy model pictured below).

The tri-fold concept can unfold a 6.65-inch device into a 10-inch tablet using TCL’s DragonHinge and ButterflyHinge technologies, with an AMOLED display.

The rollable concept, meanwhile, uses internal motors to extend a 6.75-inch device to a 7.8-inch display size with the press of a button that ‘unrolls’ the screen, enabling split-screen app use and multi-tasking. It also has an AMOLED display, and expands the screen without producing creases or wrinkles. It retains 9mm thickness in both rolled and unrolled modes.

There are currently no pricing plans or dates for products based on the concepts.

At a briefing for the concepts, TCL’s general manager for global marketing Stefan Streit said: “Many smartphone manufacturers don’t have expertise in moving parts. At TCL, we have a lot of technical engineering because of our product ecosystem. We can leverage this expertise and bring it into the smartphone business.”

“With these latest concept devices, TCL has clearly shown that there is still plenty of room for new ideas when it comes to flexible and foldable display technologies, and it’s critical for us to think outside the box and lead with innovation,” added TCL  Communication general manager, Global Product Centre Shane Lee.

“These new form factors leverage display and hinge technologies that already exist entirely within our fully integrated TCL ecosystem, allowing us to reimagine the future of mobile device development with an aggressive research and development program.”

TCL, which manufactures Alcatel-branded phones (and manufactured Blackberry phones until this year), made its own-branded entry into the smartphone market at IFA last year with the TCL Plex.

It followed up that device at CES this year with its 10 Series range, which included at 5G device.