The world's first foldable phone isn't going to be the Samsung Galaxy X, instead it's the FlexPai from Royale, and it'll be officially launched on January 7 at CES 2019.
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Royale is currently selling a developer version of the FlexPai for $1,318 for the 128GB model, or an eye-watering $1,469 for 256GB of storage - and we expect the final consumer version to cost around the same.
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It is a phone-tablet hybrid from China, with a large 7.8-inch, 1920 x 1440 AMOLED display which can be folded in half to provide a 4-inch smartphone-like form factor.
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As for the other specs, the device comes with a 2.8Ghz, eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and a 3,800 mAh battery. Both the consumer model and the developer version are up for preorder on Royole’s website right now.
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As you may have noticed, the display has a 4:3 aspect ratio, presumably so the device can better function like a traditional phone when folded.
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The folding mechanism is supported by a hinge with over 100 unique components. The hinge seems very sturdy, but obviously the real technical achievement is the flexible display. In addition to the underlying flexible display panel, Royole is using a type of flexible plastic material instead of the familiar cover glass.
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Taking the Royole FlexPai from tablet to phone mode is pretty straightforward — just fold it down the middle. The hinge supports pretty much every angle, so you can fold and use it in any position you wish. Royole claims the FlexPai can be folded at least 200,000 times, enough for several years of normal use.
