A flurry of innovations has been making their way in front of the world during the ongoing Mobile World Congress Show 2024 happening in Barcelona. Samsung is a brand that is never shy of experimenting with innovative and bold new concepts and it has once again given a glimpse into something unique as it showcases a Bendable Smartphone & a Rollable display speaker during the MWC. A wearable phone is a wrist-worn device that combines form and function to offer a look at what could be the future. It is similar to Motorola’s bendable concept phone that has also been displayed.
Samsung Bendable Smartphone
The bendable concept by Samsung is called the Samsung Cling Band. It reminds us of those slap bands we played with in our childhood as they can effortlessly wrap around the wrist, similar to how those bands used to. It is almost like a bracelet that can be worn. It has a candy-bar-like design with a grove-like structure to support a flexible screen when bent.
When not around the wrist, it looks like a regular smartphone with ridges along the backside. A simple flick and it turns into a backend mode that makes it easily wrapable around the wrist by slapping it on your arm.
The device comes with a flexible OLED display and can serve as a smartwatch and a smartphone. In smartphone mode, it shows off its thin form factor and the display is bezel-less too. There is a back camera just like any other smartphone.
While as a concept it looks very exciting, is such a device practically good? Several issues will need to be tackled before this concept is further explored. Durability is one of the most major concerns as repeated slapping and folding will make internal components prone to wear and tear. Flexible OLED might develop creases at the fold point and user experience will have to be optimized to avoid accidental bending and discomfort while using the apps. The screen ratio will have to be adjusted as per the wrist.
Space for batteries will be petty limited in such a device so fitting in a decent battery will be a challenge. Manufacturing cost will be high for bendable devices which will limit its reach to a specific rich consumers’ market only.
Although Samsung has not shared any plans of mass producing this design anytime soon it will be interesting to see how the brand will go about these challenges if it decides to produce it for the market in the future.
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Samsung Rollable Display Speaker
Bendable is not the only innovation shown off by Samsung this year. The brand has also showcased a prototype of an AI Speaker with a rollable display. It combines high-quality sound with rich visuals and interacts with technology already existing in our homes.
The rollable display of the speaker is the focal point as this screen unfurls around the speaker making it a compact TV. The functionality of the speaker increases manifold and it gets an aesthetic appeal as well. You can use this speaker as a showpiece in your home when it isn’t in use.
Being Samsung, the display is a top-notch OLED panel that brings visuals to life. The speaker is smart as well adapting to user’s preferences offering an immersive experience. The speaker comes with Bluetooth as well as WiFi capabilities so you can stream content from anywhere, anytime. It can be screencasted from your phone too. The display has an automatic rolling mechanism so one can either set it in TV mode or retract it when not in use.
The prototype challenges the boundaries of audio-visual tech and gives a glimpse into how smart the future can be. For now, it is just a prototype as a lot of work will need to go into its AI capabilities, commercial availability, and other specifications.
What is Motorola up to?
Just like Samsung, Motorola has also showcased its bendable phone at the MWC 2024. It comes with an adaptive display that can bend into various forms to fit the user’s needs. The company claims that in wrist-worn form it can paid with AI-powered outfit matching wallpapers.
There is a 6.9-inch p-OLED display and it can bend the top half upward creating a curved 4.6-inch screen on the wrist. The size will make it perfect for social media and video calling. There is a tent mode too which allows you to watch videos on an even tinier screen.
The back panel of the device is covered with fabric so that it falls better on your hands. Just like Samsung, Motorola’s phone is a concept too, and currently, there are no plans to mass produce it for the market.
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