I don't see how that's technically any less possible than a Galaxy Fold (6 years ago!). The flaws on the screen, risk of dust etc. is the very same as the first release from Samsung.
Some bits of background information:
##. The sample shown here is not production-ready, it's a revision "DV2" (visible at timestamp 5:50 in the upper left corner of the device) which was hand-assembled approximately one year before the planned launch (~Oct/Nov 2019) to be presented at CES and closed-door customer meetings.
DV stands for "Development version", which is the phase where all the parts are assembled to proceed development in the various SW/HW/Quality Teams.
In LG-terms that means it was only the SECOND revision of that hardware that the R&D built. Usually there were 4-5 additional revisions on mechanical design, board layout, RF-tuning etc. before entering mass-production (LG cycle: EV->DV1->DV2->DVx->PV1->PV2->MP--> Mass-production)
The MP-revision is the initial mass-production test, where the factory tested if they can efficiently mass-produce this design by producing ~500pcs and keeping notes on issues and difficulties to fix before entering actual high-volume production.
##. The big handicap of LG at that time: The launch of this product was still 10~12 months in the future, was definitely not going to be a high-volume product and the brand needed investment in many countries to carry such a premium device.
Meanwhile sales of the last flagships LG G8, V50, V60 was behind expectations, the period required a massive increase in R&D investment to commercialize 5G technology and Chinese vendors (Xiaomi, Oppo/Vivo/OnePlus, Lenovo) made a huge push into international carrier-markets.
It was all on thin ice already, but there were also some great Mid/High-tier devices in the pipeline, LG was in the lead for commercializing 5G in many markets and had a few aces up its sleeve for the coming quarters like this rollable device.
Then COVID came. Global Sales of the industry collapsed, everything became slower and also semiconductor pricing exploded.
The companies which made it through COVID better than others were those who already had solid brands and high-volume sales before that period. They had the warehouses filled with tested and launched devices, they cut a bit on profit, increased a bit on price and prepared a semi-hibernation mode.
LG's mobile division was not in such a state in most markets. It wasn't profitable for several quarters at this point, and it was clear that it won't be profitable for several quarters to come.
##. Rollables are most-likely not "a thing" today, because LG did so much fundamental research on this and owns many of the relevant patents.
The key tech is less in the panel itself than the supporting structure (the skeleton supporting and stabilizing the panel, you can also see this in the R&D involved in the hinge-tech of folding devices)
Oppo (and Lenovo iirc) were presenting similar rollable form-factors on roadshows or press-events ~2019, but this was prior to the patents (especially [0]) being granted, likely also used the OLED Panel from LG Display (but I'm not sure the designs were actually considering durability as much as LG already did at this stage)
Came here to say this. Glad to see it already posted. I remember going to CES every year in the mid/late 00’s, and always badgering vendors about their roll up oled advances, bend radius, tensile strength, impact resistance, failure behavior, etc… after a few years it became clear to me the inherent fragility wasn’t going to make it practical for use cases I wanted. Guess I’ll get comfy and keep waiting for a display tech closer to a textile.
- the original Motorola StarTac "Star Trek Communicator" flip.
- the Danger Hiptop / Sidekick II rotating screen-over-keyboard
- the Motorola Droid slide-out keyboard
- the OnePlus 7Pro slide-out selfie-cam
Only that last one was motorized, but mine is still working. Holes and divots and islands and any other kind of screen interference is strictly inferior.
I loved my LG Phones, once they gave up on making phones I moved on to iOS. There was always something nice about each model. The LG G2 had an IR at the top of it, so it was a universal remote control, it doesn't age very well (wife still has hers, but you cannot see the screen), but it was at its lifetime / prime an amazing phone, the only change I would have done is add an SD card to it.
The G5 was another great phone, I believe it was designed to be a "modular phone" the bottom would come out letting you take the battery out, but it could also add an attachment to the phone, I never did buy an attachment though, and I think the last one I had was the G7.
I enjoyed their tablets too.
For some reason people cling to other brands, and slept on LG which made some really decent Android phones.
Both my G5 and G7 still turn on, I always say that by the release of the G7 (I forget the year) and possibly the G5, all decent quality smartphones got to the "good enough" stage of smartphones where it feels like I could own one for more than just 2 years before it shows signs of wear.
LG made nice phones. It was also ahead with the Optimus 3D, which could take stereoscopic photos and show them without glasses. Never understood why this didn't take off. My G6 spend a night in the ocean and was working fine afterwards. My Pixel gave up immediately after being dipped into a clear lake briefly.
I don't really care to roll it up but why not an bit soft? To cup in my hand or fitted in my pocket would be nice instead of this brick. We can make lighter thinner phones if they don't need so much rigidity.
Phones get the crap kicked out of them. They need to be really robust.
I have an iPhone 17 Pro, and it's the first one that I've had (since the SE), that seems to have some "clunk" to it. I've already dropped it a couple of times, with no issues.
I want one of those "shake to flip" phones they had in Geostorm.
57 comments
Some bits of background information:
##. The sample shown here is not production-ready, it's a revision "DV2" (visible at timestamp 5:50 in the upper left corner of the device) which was hand-assembled approximately one year before the planned launch (~Oct/Nov 2019) to be presented at CES and closed-door customer meetings.
DV stands for "Development version", which is the phase where all the parts are assembled to proceed development in the various SW/HW/Quality Teams.
In LG-terms that means it was only the SECOND revision of that hardware that the R&D built. Usually there were 4-5 additional revisions on mechanical design, board layout, RF-tuning etc. before entering mass-production (LG cycle: EV->DV1->DV2->DVx->PV1->PV2->MP--> Mass-production)
The MP-revision is the initial mass-production test, where the factory tested if they can efficiently mass-produce this design by producing ~500pcs and keeping notes on issues and difficulties to fix before entering actual high-volume production.
Meanwhile sales of the last flagships LG G8, V50, V60 was behind expectations, the period required a massive increase in R&D investment to commercialize 5G technology and Chinese vendors (Xiaomi, Oppo/Vivo/OnePlus, Lenovo) made a huge push into international carrier-markets.
It was all on thin ice already, but there were also some great Mid/High-tier devices in the pipeline, LG was in the lead for commercializing 5G in many markets and had a few aces up its sleeve for the coming quarters like this rollable device.
Then COVID came. Global Sales of the industry collapsed, everything became slower and also semiconductor pricing exploded.
The companies which made it through COVID better than others were those who already had solid brands and high-volume sales before that period. They had the warehouses filled with tested and launched devices, they cut a bit on profit, increased a bit on price and prepared a semi-hibernation mode.
LG's mobile division was not in such a state in most markets. It wasn't profitable for several quarters at this point, and it was clear that it won't be profitable for several quarters to come.
The key tech is less in the panel itself than the supporting structure (the skeleton supporting and stabilizing the panel, you can also see this in the R&D involved in the hinge-tech of folding devices)
Oppo (and Lenovo iirc) were presenting similar rollable form-factors on roadshows or press-events ~2019, but this was prior to the patents (especially [0]) being granted, likely also used the OLED Panel from LG Display (but I'm not sure the designs were actually considering durability as much as LG already did at this stage)
[0] https://patents.google.com/patent/EP3506247A1
[1] https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2014123272A1
[2] https://patents.google.com/patent/US10564676B2
https://community.ultimaker.com/topic/15743-global-link-prop...
As seen here: http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsN...
- the original Motorola StarTac "Star Trek Communicator" flip.
- the Danger Hiptop / Sidekick II rotating screen-over-keyboard
- the Motorola Droid slide-out keyboard
- the OnePlus 7Pro slide-out selfie-cam
Only that last one was motorized, but mine is still working. Holes and divots and islands and any other kind of screen interference is strictly inferior.
The site also puts two non-youtube video ads in front of the youtube video so you can't just watch it.
The G5 was another great phone, I believe it was designed to be a "modular phone" the bottom would come out letting you take the battery out, but it could also add an attachment to the phone, I never did buy an attachment though, and I think the last one I had was the G7.
I enjoyed their tablets too.
For some reason people cling to other brands, and slept on LG which made some really decent Android phones.
Both my G5 and G7 still turn on, I always say that by the release of the G7 (I forget the year) and possibly the G5, all decent quality smartphones got to the "good enough" stage of smartphones where it feels like I could own one for more than just 2 years before it shows signs of wear.
Phones get the crap kicked out of them. They need to be really robust.
I have an iPhone 17 Pro, and it's the first one that I've had (since the SE), that seems to have some "clunk" to it. I've already dropped it a couple of times, with no issues.
I want one of those "shake to flip" phones they had in Geostorm.