LG’s rollable Android phone might not happen, report says

Remember LG’s rollable Android smartphone? The one LG claims is a real product that’s definitely coming in 2021?

Well, according to a new report by Korea’s Yonhap News (via Android Central), the company might scrap the project altogether. 

LG has told its part suppliers to put the rollable phone project on hold, industry sources told Yonhap. The report quotes industry observers as saying that the development of the rollable phone might have been slower than expected, and that the company may have felt pressure delivering a successful product to the market. 

An LG spokesperson told the outlet that it cannot confirm any plans about the rollable phone. 

The news comes a month after another report that LG is considering shutting down or selling its mobile business. LG CEO Kwon Bong-seok reportedly sent a message to staff that the company needs to make a “cold judgment and the best choice” about what to do with its mobile business, which has been generating losses for years. And a later report said Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup might be a potential buyer for LG’s mobile division. 

LG’s rollable phone was first shown during the company’s CES 2021 press conference. Few details were shared, but we got a quick glimpse of a smartphone whose display can be extended horizontally, effectively turning the phone into a small tablet. 

The rollable phone was the second device in LG’s Explorer Project product category, which focused on innovative phones with odd form factors. The first Explorer Project smartphone was the LG Wing, which had a rotating dual display.