We’ve seen a few foldable phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 and another mobile concept with a roll-up screen like LG’s before, but what we didn’t see was both at the same time. This is precisely the TCL Fold ‘n Roll, a concept of mobile with foldable and roll-up screen.
In addition to presenting its new TCL 20 series terminals, the company opened a window on what it is preparing for the future. This is how we meet the futuristic TCL Fold ‘n Roll who has three different screen sizes, 6.87 inches to 10 inches.
One device, three screen sizes
TCL showed us what it has in its hands in terms of foldable and rolling mobiles and the curious thing is that the two paths converge in the same device: the TCL Fold ‘n Roll which, as the name suggests, has a screen that folds and unfolds.
On the one hand, the device incorporates a hinge mechanism similar to that found in any other folding terminal, but the surprise comes because, in addition, at another point of its body the terminal can extend and retract to change the diagonal of the screen.
In this way, the TCL Fold n ‘Roll collects three shapes for the same device: folded, with an aspect ratio similar to that of a mobile and 6.87 inch screen both in front and behind, and with a camera for selfies – with double perforation in some representations of the terminal, although in others there are no cameras on the screen – which double functions as the main camera with the terminal folded.
When unfolding the mobile, the aspect ratio is almost square and the terminal takes the form of a tablet with its 8.85 inch screen. Usually the makeover ends here in the folding terminals, but not in the TCL Fold ‘n Roll, which can roll out the screen to 10 inches.
So we have a device with three screen sizes and, presumably, a number of engineering challenges ahead before it’s ready for launch. Here is a summary of the three available modes:
-
Mobile mode, with 6.87 inch screen
-
Phablet mode, with 8.85 inch screen
-
Tablet mode, with 10 inch screen
In some of the performances of the TCL Fold ‘n Roll, we can see that it would incorporate its main chambers in the small strip between the hinge and the part where the screen extends, so that the terminal has cameras pointing backwards at all times. However, as a concept, all of that could change in the future, and it remains to be seen if that will eventually come to fruition.
