Who will launch the first rollable display phone in 2023?
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Ross Young's research shop expects 22.7 million foldables to make their ways to retail shops and warehouses in 2023, as Samsung, Google, Motorola and other assorted Chinese brands will be releasing no less than 23 new foldable phone models next year.
In fact, the big bump in foldable phone shipments next year seems to be riding on the wings of Chinese brands like Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo, or Huawei, all of which have foldables in the pipeline, and what of those makers will be releasing no less than four of those next year.
Who will launch the first rollable phone?
Needless to say, we are mostly interested in the rollable display phone as there are plenty of design possibilities to skin that particular cat. DSCC's report only hints that the first phone with rollable display will be China-made.
"The first rollable smartphone will be launched by a Chinese brand with a Korean panel," says the report, while warning that other phone makers aren't actually "in a rush to launch a rollable."
A few companies like Samsung, LG, Huawei, Motorola, TCL, and even Google, have so far been rumored to experiment with rollable display phone patents or concepts, while Oppo even showed a working prototype model. Since Samsung is not a Chinese phone maker, that leaves Oppo, Huawei, or Motorola's Felix vertically extending display concept as chief candidates to be first on market with a rollable.
The Motorola Felix reportedly sports a spindle in the bottom where a part of the screen resides and can be extended vertically to something akin to the clamshell RAZR line sans the hinge and body paraphernalia supporting the bottom part of its panel.
Oppo, on the other hand, showed a prototype of an Oppo X phone with rollable display that extends sidewards way back in 2021, so that's where our bet is. It goes from a 6.7-inch phone into a 7.4-inch tablet via a motorized "dynamic sliding frame" with multiple steps in between according to your desires. One of these rollable display phone concepts will become reality as soon as next year and we can't wait to see which.
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