Smartphone OEMs like TCL and LG have been teasing the concept of a rollable display for a while now. However, we have not seen anything substantial yet.
At its INNO day conference today, the BBK-owned Smartphone make Oppo unveiled its Oppo X 2021 concept smartphone. Oppo is no stranger to shaking up the norms of designs in the smartphone industry, as evident from its Find X series. This new concept phone is all about its “continuously variable OLED display.”
The Oppo X 2021 does not have a fixed display; rather, it alternates between 6.7 and 7.4-inches in diagonal with a simple swipe button. The software interface adapts accordingly for an optimal experience.
According to Engadget, the prototype that was shown to them toggled between two screen sizes, with the video resizing itself on the fly to fill the screen. Moreover, the system menus and Twitter also switched between their phone interface and tablet interface to match the screen size.
Construction
The smartphone basically works like a motorized scroll. A large part of the OLED panel is laminated onto a “Warp Track” for improved strength, and it goes around a Roll motor to expand and contract. Since the display has dual rolling motors underneath, there is no foldable phone-like crease.
The concept phone features a dynamic frame that has a fixed frame underneath it. The 2-in-1 plate design has no segment gaps, which helps in preventing the screen from collapsing. The company revealed that it applied for 122 patents for this project, 12 of which were on the scroll mechanism alone.
Launch Plans
As far as the launch plans for the Oppo X 2021 are concerned, Levin Liu, OPPO Vice President and Head of OPPO Research Institute, stressed that the smartphone is still in the concept phase. Hence, it does not plan on bringing the phone to consumers anytime soon.
