A bendable phone instead of a smartwatch? Motorola with an unusual concept
Motorola surprised by showing a smartphone that can be bent in half and put on the wrist like a smartwatch. The experimental model takes a completely different approach to foldable phones.
Motorola presented a very unusual phone. The flexible smartphone screen bends in the opposite direction than the most popular foldable phones and is designed to be worn on the wrist. The device is even equipped with a special pillow.
Motorola showed off a wrist phone
The company presented the concepts at the Lenovo Tech World 2023 event. According to the announcement, the experimental unit will combine the functions of a regular smartphone, wearable screen technology and a smartwatch. The basis of the equipment is a flexible FHD+ pOLED screen, which can be bulged with the screen facing out. The software also responds appropriately to multiple bends, adapting the displayed content to different operating modes.
When fully unfolded, the 6.9-inch screen serves as a regular phone, offering full Android functionality. However, the Motorola unit can also be its own stand. By bending the bottom of the device, the usable part of the display decreases to 4.6 inches, and the phone can be placed on a countertop and looked at it without holding the device in hand. Other bends allow you to position your phone like a tent, for example, which can make it easier to take photos from a greater distance.
The third mode is wearable and allows you to bend the phone into a C shape and then put it on your wrist. However, this is not done directly on the skin. In the videos, models use a thin band of metal or plastic. This serves as a “docking station” to which we attach the phone, most likely with a magnet, and then bend it to the shape of our hand. In this mode, the phone has slightly more limited features, similar to the experience with the Motorola Razr+’s external display.
Will a wrist screen work?
A smartphone is, of course, a concept that is intended to show new development paths rather than be sold in a year or two. The question is whether anyone would actually want to wear their phone on their wrist.
Motorola’s concept must weigh much more than even the most impressive smartwatch. It seems that it could weigh us down if worn for a long time. Holding the phone in our hand also exposes it to many more dangers, such as hitting it against a door frame. All this is combined with a flexible screen, and this technology still has its problems with durability. Moreover, not everyone has the same wrist, so the device could simply not fit well to people with thinner or thicker forearms.
