LG was just granted a new patent on a rollable smartphone design, which the Korean company had applied for in early 2020 (via LetsGoDigital).
The CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration) patent in question is likely related to the long-rumored LG Rollable smartphone, which will challenge foldable smartphones by introducing a new concept – rolling out into a tablet, instead of folding out into one. A rollable phone that turns into a tablet also won’t have a crease problem and, at least in the case of LG’s rollable solution, will roll out automatically via a motorized mechanism. The latter we know from LG’s own brief teaser:
In this LG Rollable patent, the phone is shown to have dual displays, something we didn’t know before. Aside from the main flexible display that can roll in and out of the phone, there’s also a smaller display at the back of the phone for quick, general use, akin to the secondary display on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2.
The main, flexible and rollable display looks to have impressively tiny top and bottom bezels, while the small secondary screen is shaped to go around the camera module. This design will definitely differentiate the LG Rollable from any folding or dual-screen smartphones currently available on the market.
There are no buttons visible in the patent images, suggesting that users may need to rely on touch controls for volume and power. This, however, isn’t a new concept, as we’ve already seen some traditional smartphones such as the Huawei Mate 40 Pro take this approach.
The aforementioned camera module appears to hold three vertically-aligned cameras, at least one of which expected to be ultra-wide.
The LG Rollable will be an exciting game changer in the smartphone world when it (hopefully) makes it. Recently we covered the unfortunate news that LG could (partially) exit smartphone market, which currently holds the fate of this rollable phone uncertain.
