Royole to release the first foldable phone, but it leaves a lot to be desired

The Royole FlexPai

The first foldable smartphone is available for sale, and it did not come from Samsung, Apple, or even Huawei.

Available in China, with pre-ordering live as of yesterday, the FlexPai by Royole is a fascinating, misfire of a device. The FlexPai features a 7.8" display with a resolution of 1920x1440 when it is opened which becomes two separate displays when folded closed; oddly enough, the spine of the device becomes a 3rd screen with a 390x1440 resolution that can display notifications and other data similar to the edge display of the original Note Edge.

The real oddity of this device is the folding mechanism. While Samsung, Microsoft, and Apple have suggested a book-like design with a screen that folds in, the FlexPai features a device that folds with the screen facing out. Theoretically, this could eliminate the problem a screen beginning to crease from in-folding, but coupled with the clunky hinge, the out-folding FlexPai screen leaves the phone with a bulky, half-closed look. In comparison, it resembles a wallet that has just a few too many things in it.

From a technical standpoint, the device has a solid set of specifications including 8 GB or RAM, an Octo-core Snapdragon, 640 Adreno graphics, a 3800 mAh batter, and 256 GB of storage; it will also accept a memory card for an extra 256 GB of space. It will run Android 9 Pie with Royole's WaterOS on top, but the main problem lies in the software. As ZTE discovered, not many Android apps are ready to work with more than one screen, and Android is not yet optimized for this set-up. While rumor has it that Samsung has worked directly with Google for their soon-to-be-announced folding device, it is clear that the California-based Royole has not. As shown in the video, the device still suffers from some technical hiccups when the screen is opened and closed, and it does not appear if the software is ready for primetime.

As Samsung appears to announce next week, the hardware may be ready for a true prototype with a flexible display, but unfortunately, Royole is not quite ready. They will certainly get the distinction of being the first to market with the FlexPai, and it is possible that in China, they will be able to gather enough of following to release a second iteration. However, it is certainly clear that the FlexPai, with its quirky reverse-bending design, is not going to be the foldable device trendsetter, and with a price of 8,999 and 12,999 yuan ($1,295 and $1,870) it remains to be seen if we will ever hear about this device ever again.