Before LG withdrew from the smartphone market, the company was working on a unique rollable smartphone. The device first teased the device at the LG Wing launch event in September 2020 and then showed a working prototype at CES 2021. While the company officially confirmed that the LG Rollable would hit the market in 2021, we all know what that’s like. past.
Although the LG Rollable never made it to the market, we’ve already seen it in the wild. That’s probably because the company has reportedly sold the device to its employees. Earlier this year, the phone appeared in a short hands-on video showing the roll-up display mechanism. Now, a South Korean YouTube channel has published an in-depth video that gives us our best look at LG’s canceled rollable yet.
The video begins by showcasing the unique retail packaging for the LG Rollable, which slides open like the device’s screen. On the inside, you get the device, some paperwork, a charging brick, and a USB cable.
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We then get to see the device in all its glory and learn all about the hardware specifications. According to the video, the LG Rollable will feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 SoC, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and a 4,500mAh battery. The device has a 6.8-inch flexible POLED display on the front that expands to a larger 7.4-inch screen.
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On the back, the LG Rollable has a dual camera setup consisting of a 64MP primary camera with OIS and a 12MP ultra-wide angle camera. It also has a circular fingerprint scanner right below the rear-facing camera modules.
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Interestingly, the LG Rollable doesn’t have a traditional power button or volume rocker. Instead, the device has touch-sensitive controls on the left edge to help users turn the screen on and adjust the volume.
The video then shows the LG Rollable’s screen, which you can seamlessly expand and shrink with a two-finger swipe. As the phone changes, the user interface automatically adapts to the changing form factor. The UI transition looks quite smooth, even in apps like YouTube.
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While having a roll-up screen means the phone doesn’t have a crease like Samsung’s foldable ones, the roll-up portion of the screen seems to have a few wrinkles. In addition, the roll-up portion is not as structurally sound as the rest of the screen and bends easily when pressed. While LG could have addressed that in subsequent releases, the company isn’t going to release a new smartphone anytime soon.
However, other OEMs are working on similar smartphones and you can expect a device with a roll-up display in the future. Until then, watch the full video to see the canceled LG Rollable.