TCL, a partially state-owned Chinese multinational electronics company, chose to stay away from the ‘foldable phone’ trend. Unlike Samsung, Xiaomi, Motorola, etc., TCL is working on an expandable phone with a slide-out display. CNET released the leaked images of TCL’s prototype, which was supposed to be displayed at MWC 2020. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus outbreak, many renowned companies backed off, which resulted in the event being called off.
Fascinating looks raise questions on practicality
According to the prototype, the phone has a second display that slides out like an extendable dining table. Sounds exciting. But how is the phone going to work? The leaked images show the phone in its extended form with no crease or bump in the middle.
Well, we know that’s Photoshop! Where does the surplus screen go when it’s not extended? We are guessing that, like most foldable phones, this slide-out version is also going to end up getting pretty thick. This makes us mourn over MWC’s cancellation even more since we missed a chance to check it out.
“Taking it slow”
The bad news is — TCL’s one-of-a-kind phone is nowhere close to releasing. Even though the company planned to show it off at MWC, the phone manufacturers are still experimenting with the mechanism. During this year’s CES, the company teased tech geeks with their foldable phone prototype but claimed that it was “taking it slow” when asked about its final launch.
Even earlier, TCL has flaunted its prototype devices at different events, but the final product is yet to be released. In fact, in CES 2019, even the TCL staff could not touch its foldable prototype, which was as delicate as an eggshell!
Conclusion
We can’t wait to see how TCL executes this compelling idea for a new-age phone. Since the company is not as well known as its contemporaries, the expandable, slide-out display phone could make it blow up. We do predict many challenges while making the product consumer-ready. However, phones with a folding display also seemed impossible a few years ago, but here we are!
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