I got a look at this wild phone concept that has a rollable screen that slides out, transforming it into a tablet
TCL's slider concept phone has a curved screen that curls underneath the device
The hardware reference I saw was just a model meant to illustrate what the device would look and feel like, so it didn't have a working screen. But its screen would be roughly the same size as Samsung's Galaxy S20 Plus, which has a 6.7-inch display.
With the screen extended, the phone would be about the same size as an iPad mini, which has a 7.9-inch display.
The software would be able to automatically adjust content on screen as the device switches between phone and tablet mode.
And apps would work in split screen mode, as shown in the demo video below.
But the phone is still a concept at this point, so it's unclear what the final product will look like — should there ever be one. Still, it's a sign that companies may be thinking about what's next beyond the traditional smartphone.
The proliferation of foldable gadgets over the past year is evidence that flexible display technology is mature enough to appear in real products, not just concepts. That has resulted in a wave of new devices from the Galaxy Fold to Samsung's newer Z Flip and Huawei's Mate X.
No one knows whether the smartphones of tomorrow will have a screen that slides out or one that folds in half. But new concepts like TCL's provide some evidence that we may be heading toward a world in which all of our phones no longer look the same.
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