TCL debuts a working rollable concept phone at CES 2021

So many rollable smartphones at CES 2021, so little time. 

Following a sneak peek of LG’s Rollable phone during its company keynote, TCL unveiled a similar concept phone of its own. 

Full specs have yet to be confirmed, but TCL did share a few details about its rollable phone. In addition to a demo video that briefly showcases the phone’s build, TCL also revealed that the phone can expand from a “compact” 6.7-inch display all the way up to 7.8-inches by simply pressing a button.

If a rollable TCL concept phone sounds familiar, that’s because it’s not the only one of its kind. TCL announced a rollable concept phone last year as well, but that one wasn’t a working model and it also extended horizontally rather than vertically. 

This latest TCL concept is reminiscent of those old-school slider phones that would expand to reveal a keypad. It may even inspire smartphone brands to bring that design back in 2021.

With the previous iteration, TCL explained there was a small pushrod motor built-in that moved the display out when triggered by gesture controls. So it’s safe to assume the company built upon similar technology for this latest version.

Again, this is a concept phone, which means it’s possible that it might never go into production. But knowing that this year’s version is an actual working model gives me hope that a rollable TCL phone is closer than we think.