Royole FlexPai: Foldable smartphone from the future

Foldable smartphones were a major theme at CES 2019. And, while we saw multiple prototypes of what companies told us was ‘the ultimate foldable smartphone’, none of them were actually ready to hit store shelves, none but one. The Royole FlexPai is the first foldable smartphone you can buy and is capable of folding up to 180 degrees. So, how does the Royole FlexPai stack up against today’s smartphones? Let’s find out:

Royole FlexPai Display
The FlexPai boats an impressive 7.8-inch foldable AMOLED display with a 4:3 aspect ratio and 1920 x 1440 resolution and a pixel density of 308 PPI.

Thank you for IDG's @IDGCapital The Best Global Mobile Phone Breakthrough Innovation Award 2018! We cannot express enough of our gratitude to all the support that IDG has been giving us the past years! #CES2019 #IDG pic.twitter.com/qVChAmuGt2

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— Royole Corporation (@RoyoleOfficial) January 10, 2019

Royole FlexPai Performance
To run a big phone, you’re going to require big performance; to that end, the FlexPai’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor coupled with 8GB of RAM should be more than up to the challenge. The FlexPai runs on a 3970Lithium-ion battery.

Royole FlexPai Camera
The Royole FlexPai is equipped with a 16MP+20MP camera with f/1.8 Aperture, Autofocus, Optical Image Stabilisation and Flash. This foldable phone doesn’t require a selfie camera. You can use the rear camera and dual display to snap perfect selfies.

Royole FlexPai Price and availablity

The Royole FlexPai will be available to purchase around March-April 2019 at a price of about $1600. Not much is known whether or when it will hit the Indian shores.

While the FlexPai certainly boasts impressive specs capable of matching any 2019 flagship phone, we have to remember that this is the first of its kind, ground-breaking piece of technology. And, for it to have similar specs to a flagship, is more disappointing than impressive. The biggest issue with the FlexPai arises; when you consider using it as your daily phone. The FlexPai is quite thick and seems like a huge slab in the pocket.

One thing we can say is that the technology for foldable smartphones is still in its infancy. Royole have only given us the first peek of what to expect from a foldable smartphone, and it isn’t all that bad. While we criticise the FlexPai for its flaws, we should appreciate the positive direction in which the company is headed; in terms of trying to reignite the stagnant smartphone market. And constructive criticism will fix flaws and bring further improvements in future foldable smartphones.