(Credit: Eric Zeman)
BARCELONA—Motorola brought its adaptive display concept device to Mobile World Congress and I got to take a look at it. This flexible phone, announced last year at Lenovo Tech World, can fit around your wrist more like a cuff than a bracelet. Does it make any sense?
This thing is really quite crazy. Flexible displays have been around for quite a few years now, but few bend as much as this one does. When laid out flat, the concept has a large 6.9-inch display and the device runs a normal Android operating system. It's a full HD pOLED panel that can form a semicircle when fully bent. The rear of the device, which has a cloth covering, features numerous segments that move much like a mechanical snake would.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)You can bend it fairly far into a tight C-shape. The segments are rather clunky when they bend, but the effect is real.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)Motorola developed a self-standing mode for the device wherein it acts like its own stand. In this configuration, the display fills a 4.6-inch space and still runs the full Android OS. You can even use the camera to take selfies.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)If you wish, you can use a magnetic bracelet to anchor the device to your wrist. When fully curved around your arm, the device responds to touch input and can run select apps, but it cannot handle the full Android platform. Motorola did not go into detail about how it broke up the internal components to fit within the contracting shape.
(Credit: Eric Zeman)The experience of using it on your wrist is awkward at best. It's just enormous and is surely too large for activities such as exercise. A modern smartwatch with a dedicated wrist-first UI is a better device to wear on the daily. Even so, concepts often lead to real-world products. Motorola didn't say if or when this type of device might make it to market, but the company is one of just a few smartphone makers that has developed a folding phone. We can always hope.