How OPPO invented a new smartphone form factor with a flexible display (based on the OPPO X 2021 prototype)

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Regular readersgg, are probably aware that since the first announcements of smartphones with flexible

displays, I am an apologist for thistechnology and believe it will have a great future. As a rule, opponents of this idea appeal to only one argument - high price. But we have been “sitting here for a long time”, watching such arguments float in front of us from time to time, one after another, on their way to oblivion. The first telephones were also expensive. The first smartphones are also not cheap. At the same time, the time frame for the introduction and dissemination of new technologies is constantly accelerating (not least thanks to our beloved Internet and globalization). A simple (and my favorite example) - from the moment when young Mark Zuckerberg sat down to write code for his startup on campus, to the moment when he became a billionaire and a Hollywood film was made about him, only 7 (!) years passed. The reasons for my irrepressible enthusiasm lie, in fact, in the fact that flexible screens will allow us to return to the golden age of push-button phones, with all their variety of form factors. And the fact is that these new form factors fit perfectly into the existing user experience.

A bit of history

Take the form factor of a technology leaderrecent years - this is the ideology of Nokia Communicator, which was the technological leader of the era. Or look at the second, no less successful example - Z Fold (or Motorola RAZR, if you prefer). Flip phones were very popular in their time, and in the next decade they will again be seen on every corner (maybe by then even Apple will “invent” a similar smartphone). If we take the price out of the equation (and it always decreases as production scales increase), we will see all the same conveniences that buyers valued such phones for: the ability to fold them in half. This way they take up noticeably less space in pockets and handbags, and the screen in this state is very difficult to damage.

And the variety of form factors that openFlexible displays are by no means limited to these two, which have already proven their viability. Huawei Mate X  offered its own option, in which the display folds outward rather than inward. Which, however, made such a model of use completely impractical (for the same reason, Mi Mix Alpha never left the prototype stage). I held both of these smartphones in my hands and using them is truly scary - the mere thought of what will happen to the display when dropped makes me terrified. When you have an uncovered display (otherwise what's the point of it all) on both sides, it is guaranteed to get damaged if it falls. And replacing such a display will cost as much as a starship. Another form factor was proposed by OPPO, and we’ll talk about it now.

OPPO X 2021: Technology Explained On GIFs

Smartphone concept codenamed OPPO X 2021was first shown during the annual OPPO INNO DAY exhibition in November 2020 (by the way, this conference will be held again this year and there is a non-zero chance that I will have something to tell you about it first-hand). In it, engineers came up with a complex but interesting mechanism that allows you to create a sliding display using a flexible display. No, the display itself does not stretch, of course. And it doesn’t even roll up like a tape measure, as it might seem at first. Inside the case there are two micromotors that control the movement of the display.

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An axis is installed at the end, which the display bends around,hiding in another part of the body. Thus, it technically does not fold in half and does not leave any traces of a crease or crease (in fact, it still does, but it is much smaller than what we have already seen before).

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The screen area increases thanks to the use of lamellas, which move parallel to each other during the transformation.

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OPPO X 2021 with your own eyes

It is worth saying that OPPO X 2021 is a concept instage of a working prototype, which is not intended for mass production, but to demonstrate capabilities. Therefore, it makes no sense to apply a whole set of entities to it, such as processor characteristics, camera characteristics and Android version. It looks quite decent and in terms of use it is reminiscent of the Galaxy Fold, transforming from a smartphone into a mini-tablet.

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How display transformation works

To open/close the screen there is onlyone way (perhaps there will be a different solution in commercial samples): you need to slide your finger up or down on the touch panel on the side of the case (in the pictures above it looks like a fingerprint sensor). The display cannot be closed or opened by force - it is not provided. It doesn’t work the first time, but you can get the hang of it—after a couple of minutes of training, I was able to do everything right, almost always the first time. The change in the screen after the transformation looks interesting - the picture is simultaneously animated and “stretched”.

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The fold is really almost invisible, it is barely perceptible in the unfolded state, and this is a key advantage over other smartphones with a folding screen existing today.

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But it's easier to see once than to read the description of the process:

The outer part of the case can be pryed off with a fingernail, it is pliable and there is a fairly large gap there, which (yes, I am ashamed of such an act of vandalism, but what lengths will the inquisitive editors go toggin order to understand how everything works) you can expand it even further.

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Compare OPPO X 2021 and Galaxy Z Fold 3

Of course, it is most correct to compare the dimensions of a smartphone in this form factor with the Galaxy Fold, which we did.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of the Sliding Screen Form Factor

The obvious advantage of such engineeringThe solution is compactness - when folded, the smartphone looks noticeably thinner than the same Fold. The aesthetics here are an order of magnitude higher - Fold on the table when folded is always a little thicker in the part where the hinges are located (we have a separate text why this is so and how everything is arranged inside). The disadvantages are also obvious - additional motors mean more mechanical and moving parts, which will greatly affect wear, reliability, and shock resistance when dropped. The opening control raises some questions - moving your finger across the touchpad doesn't seem like the best solution. And transforming the screen of OPPO X 2021 will always take longer than simply moving your hands to open the Fold. Separately, it is worth saying that in the medium term of several years, such form factors as the Fold and the successors of OPPO X 2021 will always be more expensive than a clamshell smartphone, which will make their consumer audience smaller. It’s trite that a larger display will always cost more.

In the dry residue

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As a result, OPPO was able to demonstrate itsthe ability to do something outstanding in a highly competitive market like smartphones. OPPO X 2021 is no longer just a conceptual idea, but a really working prototype of a new form factor, which even has some prospects of coming out in the form of a mass-produced device. Feels like we won't see such a device on sale very soon (optimistic - in a couple of years, pessimistic - never), but this will give the engineers an opportunity to modify and improve the design. Perhaps, to solve the problem of managing the transformation of the display in some more reliable and convenient way to work. Or, in the process, they'll invent yet another form factor for a smartphone with a flexible screen. There is still plenty of room for engineering creativity, I'm sure.