Technologies

Why You Won’t Be Buying a Rollable Phone Anytime Soon

Shapeshifting concepts from Motorola and Samsung likely won’t turn into real products for quite some time.

Imagine if your phone or tablet could change the size of its screen depending on what you’re doing? That’s the future Motorola and Samsung envision, as both companies showcased concept devices capable of extending or shrinking their displays with the press of a button.

Motorola flaunted its concept at Mobile World Congress this week, while Samsung exhibited a slew of shapeshifting prototypes at CES in January. Such concepts prove phone makers are thinking about the next evolution of personal devices beyond today’s static touchscreens. They’re even looking beyond foldable phones, which have only been widely available for a little more than three years.

But as eye-catching as these concepts are, it’ll likely be a long time before you’re carrying one around. High prices, engineering and durability challenges and a lack of compelling use cases will likely mean these concepts won’t turn into real products anytime soon. And if they do, there are still good reasons why you should wait before buying one.

Rollable phones are eye-catching

Motorola's rollable phone concept — Motorola’s rollable phone in small (left) and large form (right).

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

Conceptual devices with expandable screens have surfaced before, but they’ve garnered attention again this week at Mobile World Congress thanks to Motorola and its parent company Lenovo.

Motorola showcased its prototype palm-sized phone that extends with the double press of a button. And even better, the screen automatically unfurls when using certain apps like YouTube, according to my colleague Andrew Lanxon, who got to see the device at the conference. The phone may also switch between small and large mode depending on what you’re doing within an app. For example, the phone may stay tiny when you’re scrolling through your inbox, but it could automatically expand as you compose an email, Lanxon writes.

When the device is in its compact form, the display wraps around the bottom of the device to provide a secondary screen on the back of the phone. I can’t think of many other reasons to use this extra screen other than as a viewfinder for taking selfies with the rear camera, as Lanxon did during his demo. Regardless, it’s intriguing to see how Motorola is thinking about putting that technology to use.

Take a look at the phone in action.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET

Even though phones with rollable screens are in their infancy, they could present some notable advantages over today’s foldables, according to Ross Young, CEO and co-founder of Display Supply Chain Consultants. The crease may be smaller since it would be located at the edge of the device rather than in the center, he said via email. Rollable phones will also likely be thinner than current devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which resembles two phones stacked on top of one another when folded.

But those benefits will probably result in additional engineering challenges. The motors and sliding mechanisms likely require more power consumption, says Young.

“Some brands told us there is a lot of work still to be done,” he said.

It’s not the first time Motorola has shown a concept like this; the phone maker also showcased the tech at Lenovo’s Tech World conference last year. But its arrival at MWC underscores Motorola’s ambitions in this area.

Motorola isn’t the only company interested in making phones with screens that can roll, slide and expand. Nearly two months ago, Samsung exhibited its own vision for what futuristic phones and tablets could look like. The star of the show was the Flex Hybrid concept, which looks like a notebook when closed but can switch between 10.5-inch and 12.4-inch screen sizes when opened.

Samsung showcased its display concepts at CES 2023.

David Katzmaier/CNET

LG also made a splash with the rollable phone concept it teased at CES 2021, although the company shut down its mobile phone business shortly thereafter. Chinese tech giant Oppo has developed a rollable phone concept with a 6.7-inch screen that transforms into a 7.4-inch tablet-sized display.

At the same time, foldable phones — which are generally considered to be the precursor for future rollable devices — still only account for a sliver of the overall smartphone market. Foldable phones are estimated to have accounted for just 1.1% of smartphone shipments in 2022 and are expected to make up 2.8% in 2026, according to International Data Corporation. But that hasn’t stopped phone makers from looking ahead.

“They’ve got to keep innovating to differentiate,” said Brad Akyuz, executive director and mobile analyst at NPD Group. “That’s the only way they can just get ahead of the competition.”

But don’t count on buying one anytime soon

The word “concept” is crucial; these devices aren’t products. Instead, they’re proofs of concept meant to illustrate the direction these companies may take when developing future smartphones. That means we don’t know when rollable phones from Motorola, Samsung or other device makers will launch, if ever.

The foldable phone market could serve as a blueprint. Samsung demonstrated flexible display technology as far back as 2013, but it didn’t release its first phone that could fold in half until 2019.

Whether a rollable phone arrives in the near term or not, analysts believe it’ll take several years for the devices to become a regular fixture in the tech world. Akyuz pegs that at around three to four years, while Bill Menezes, a director for market researcher Gartner covering the telecoms industry, estimates three to six years.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 — Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 (left) alongside an iPhone (right)

James Martin/CNET

There are a variety of reasons why, all of which mirror the challenges that the foldable phone industry is going through. Prices need to be affordable, and phones must be durable enough to withstand everyday use without concern.

They should also offer compelling features that significantly improve the way you use your mobile device to make them worthwhile. Even though today’s foldables have different designs that make our phones more compact when closed, the overall experience is the same as that of using a standard phone. Samsung is trying to address this with a feature called Flex Mode, which divides compatible apps across the top and bottom portions of the display when folded halfway. But this feels more like an optimization than a brand new way to use your phone.

“A foldable phone really isn’t that much different than a flat phone concept,” said Menezes. “Once you open it, you’re still scrolling through to get to different applications, or different screens or tabs.”

Even if a company like Motorola or Samsung does release a rollable phone in the near future, you probably shouldn’t buy it. First-generation products can be expensive, damage-prone and not as polished as later iterations.

Take the Galaxy Fold from 2019, for example, which Samsung postponed launching after a small number of reviewers reported issues with the display. That phone was also priced at $1,980, while the much-improved Galaxy Z Fold 4, which just launched in August, starts at $1,800. Samsung’s smaller foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip, has also matured; the first version had a tiny screen that barely felt useful and lacked 5G.

Samsung's 2019 Galaxy Fold — Samsung’s 2019 Galaxy Fold

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Now, more than three years after the Galaxy Fold’s launch, demand for foldable devices is starting to accelerate. Even though IDC’s report suggests foldables only account for a fraction of the smartphone market, shipments are estimated to have grown by 66.6% in 2022 compared to 2021. NPD Group’s Connected Intelligence Mobility Survey also suggests interest is growing. While 51% of survey respondents said they were not likely at all to buy a foldable phone in 2019, only 36% said the same in 2022, according to data from the survey shared with CNET.

“I think this is the future, I don’t think we can deny that,” Akyuz said. “But as we’ve seen with the foldable category, it’s just going to take some time to get there.”

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”