In response to the folding models of its competitor Samsung (Samsung), LG introduced a new device at the beginning of 2021 that could bring about a real revolution in the industry. It was a device with a flexible and rollable OLED screen, that is, one that shrinks and disappears into the device case when a large display is not needed. However, the LG Rollable, as it was called by the manufacturer, was canceled when LG decided to exit the global smartphone market, and never reached store shelves.
Now a prototype model of the device has surfaced recorded by a South Korean YouTuber, and although the video has no built-in English subtitles it’s easy to get the impression that the LG Rollable was incredibly close to launch. The electric mechanism that handles the scrolling of the screen works perfectly and quickly, and LG even made sure to adapt the Android operating system interface so that it dynamically responds to the change in screen size and displays additional menus and options accordingly.
As for the specifications, the LG Rollable was equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 (Qualcomm) with 12 gigabytes of working memory, which would have put it in line with the other flagship devices of 2021. The size of the folded screen was 6.8 inches, and while it was deployed fully 7.4 inches. Also, the device came with a main camera with a 64-megapixel sensor, and a battery with a capacity of 4,500 mAh.
While LG itself has no plans to make phones independently, the technology behind the scrolling screen is still available to other manufacturers who are interested in it. This means that it is certainly possible that in the future we will see other models with a similar display, although it is disappointing to learn that all this could have happened already about two years ago.