Royole’s bendy-screen FlexPai phone unveiled in China

California-based start-up Royole has beaten major players Huawei and Samsung in launching what it claims is the world’s first foldable smartphone.

Unveiled Wednesday at a conference in Beijing, the FlexPai mobile phone was made available to consumers in a flash sale on Thursday. Priced from 8,999 to 12,999 yuan ($1,295.49 to $1,871.33), the company said it would start delivering the phones in December.

Royole, a six-year-old components manufacturer, said FlexPai would “subvert people’s perception of traditional smart phones,” functioning as a portable device and a high-definition large screen tablet, with the capability to support dual-screen use.

During the press conference, Bill Liu, founder and CEO of Royole, also announced that the firm would invest 200 million yuan into global firms that would develop apps and software for the device.

  • Start-up Royole has unveiled the world’s first bendable smartphone.
  • The product was launched in China on Thursday in a flash sale.
  • It had been widely speculated that Samsung or Huawei would be the first company to launch a folding phone.

PHONE PRICE AND SALE:

The phones will be priced between 8,999 and 12,999 yuan ($1,290 to $1,863; £1,011 to £1,460) depending on the memory and storage specifications selected.

In addition, Royole said it would also offer a slightly different version of the devices to developers across the world the same day.

It intends to start deliveries in “late December”.

The launch has caught many industry watchers by surprise.

It was widely believed Samsung or Huawei would be the first to sell such a device to the public.

Samsung was expected to preview its efforts at an event in San Francisco on 7 November, but is not understood to be ready to put a product on sale.

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Royole Designs its Own Flexibility Sensor and Display

Another company-watcher added that he doubted the FlexPai would ever be produced in large numbers.

“Royole has carried out several publicity stunts over the years to showcase its flexible OLED [organic light-emitting diode] displays,” said Dr Guillaume Chansin from Irimitech Consulting.

“The FlexPai is probably another stunt.

“Royole is building its first OLED factory and it is now trying to compete directly with other display manufacturers such as Samsung and LG.”