In a different timeline, this could have been one of the most innovative phones of 2021. In this timeline, only a few LG Rollable units were produced and sold to employees as a keepsake. It appeared in a few photos and even a short video, but mostly faded from the public eye. Now a South Korean YouTube channel has made a detailed video showing an interesting alternative to leaflets.
It starts with the bespoke box, which opens in the same way that the phone’s rollable display of the same name extends to the side. There’s a charger and a USB cable inside, but that’s not what we’re here to see.
The phone itself looks quite normal in the off state, it’s not as thick as the foldable ones. It’s heavier than most rigid phones, however, tipping the scale at 285g (this is with a 4,500mAh battery inside).
It’s not as thick as a closed folding, but the LG Rollable is quite heavy
The main innovation of the phone is the display: by default, it is a 6.8 “P-OLED display with curved sides. However, a swipe gesture causes it to expand horizontally, bringing the diagonal to 7.4” and making the aspect ratio 3: 2.
Switching from a fairly standard 6.8 “display to a 7.4” 3: 2 display.
In this mode, some apps automatically switch to the interface of your tablet. Works in YoTube, settings screen and more. Home screen wallpapers are also able to seamlessly expand and contract to fit the screen.
Apps that support it can show the tablet user interface on the extended screen
The display rotates on the back, avoiding the tight curve needed on folded leaflets. It’s nice and smooth in the closed position, but the extended portion of the screen isn’t perfectly flat. However, it appears that this is only visible if you tilt it correctly and will not be noticeable during normal use. It is quite soft, however, it flexes visibly when touched.
LG Rollable next to a tablet
An interesting detail is the key-less design, similar to the canceled LG Velvet 2 Pro (instead of physical buttons, the volume was controlled by pressure-sensitive pads). The SIM tray is in a strange position, which can only be accessed when the phone is unrolled.
The SIM tray is difficult to access
The phone is a typical 2021 flagship with a Snapdragon 888, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The rear camera setup includes 64MP wide and 12MP ultra wide modules.
You may be thinking “how do I take selfies using the main cameras?” Well, there is a display on the back so you can use it. The rest of the time it shows widgets and notifications. And here’s the really cool part: this isn’t a secondary display, but the primary display instead! You can see it moving at 8:45 am. For regular selfies, there is a small camera hidden in the top bezel on the front.
The display wraps around the back, giving you a secondary display for at-a-glance information and selfies with the primary cam
Watch the video below for a closer look at the LG Rollable (note: it’s in Korean and the automatic subtitles aren’t great).
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