See LG's Expanding 'Rollable' Phone From CES

LG teased an extending "LG Rollable" phone with a rollable screen during its CES press conference today, showing a phablet where part of the bezel detaches so the screen extends to the size of a small tablet.

We didn't learn anything more about this product, which has been rumored and teased before. As Android Authority notes, LG did a similar tease around its LG Wing launch event, and LetsGoDigital has found relevant patent filings for a "roll-slide mobile terminal" with an extending screen.

The expanding phone will likely be part of LG's "explorer project," the company's ambitious bet on wild form factors which started with the swiveling LG Wing. Android Authority suggests that the expanding phone will come out around March 2021.LG is still the third-largest smartphone seller in the US, but it has had real trouble maintaining mindshare. Apple and Samsung sell most phones here, while Google and OnePlus have passionate online fan bases which let them bat far beyond their own market share. Even with innovative projects like the Wing and some of the first 5G phones in the US, LG's efforts tend to fall through the cracks of the discourse.

We don't know much else about this device, but we're sure to hear more in the upcoming months.

About Our Expert

Sascha Segan

Former Lead Analyst, Mobile

My Experience

I'm that 5G guy. I've actually been here for every "G." I reviewed well over a thousand products during 18 years working full-time at PCMag.com, including every generation of the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy S. I also wrote a weekly newsletter, Fully Mobilized, where I obsessed about phones and networks.

My Areas of Expertise

US and Canadian mobile networks
Mobile phones released in the US
iPads, Android tablets, and ebook readers
Mobile hotspots
Big data features such as Fastest Mobile Networks and Best Work-From-Home Cities

The Technology I Use

Being cross-platform is critical for someone in my position. In the US, the mobile world is split pretty cleanly between iOS and Android. So I think it's really important to have Apple, Android and Windows devices all in my daily orbit.

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 for work and a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro for personal use. My current phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, although I'm probably going to move to an Android foldable. Most of my writing is either in Microsoft OneNote or a free notepad app called Notepad++. Number crunching, which I do often for those big data stories, is via Microsoft Excel, DataGrip for MySQL, and Tableau.

In terms of apps and cloud services, I use both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive heavily, although I also have iCloud because of the three Macs and three iPads in our house. I subscribe to way too many streaming services.

My primary tablet is a 12.9-inch, 2020-model Apple iPad Pro. When I want to read a book, I've got a 2018-model flat-front Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. My home smart speakers run Google Home, and I watch a TCL Roku TV. And Verizon Fios keeps me connected at home.

My first computer was an Atari 800 and my first cell phone was a Qualcomm Thin Phone. I still have very fond feelings about both of them.

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