We have come to grips with the most impressive foldable smartphone of 2023

Motorola is taking advantage of MWC 2023 to present a rotatable smartphone prototype that’s as amazing as it is smart. We were able to take it in hand to share with you our first impressions (but also our concerns).

Deceive. We managed to discover the most exciting product at MWC 2023: a rollable (or spinable?) smartphone. An impressive concept that we have been able to assume and which is signed … Motorola.

I love this concept 😍

My MWC 2023 is starting well! I’m talking to you about this collectible (Roll-up? 🤔) smartphone very soon @employee !!! pic.twitter.com/7EIxvOK7hu

– Omar with the title (Omar Belkaab) February 26, 2023

Razer is inspired by Razer

If we can read the words “Rizr” on the back of the device, the latter does not have an official name. Motorola spokespeople simply talk about “Rollable proof of conceptIn other words, it’s a prototype. Despite that, it really made a strong impression on us because it was really well thought out.

The expandable smartphone comes as a device with a 5-inch screen with an aspect ratio of 15:9. Double press the power button on the side and presto! The panel unfolds smoothly thanks to a motorized system and presents you with a classic 6.5-inch screen with a resolution of 21:9.

The transition is really smooth and impressive. The chance to determine that the screen used is of the same type as on the foldable Motorla Razr – it makes perfect sense, you need a flexible panel either way. However, since it is a foldable smartphone, we find the same principle as on the Oppo X 2021 prototype.

In other words, the screen will be stored in a dedicated – and somewhat hidden – space on the back of the smartphone. Note that a small pane remains visible at the back to display summary information about a fileAlways on display. Just when you want to take advantage of the 6.5-inch diagonal, this hidden part in the back is deployed on the front face. Believe me, she is doing her part.

Great software experience

Moreover, Motorola did not stop at simple devices. The brand has already thought of a few uses around this format. Three examples come to mind: YouTube, Gmail, and selfies.

Let’s start with YouTube. If you play a video on the app while holding your smartphone vertically, you won’t notice anything too specific. However, as soon as the device is tilted horizontally, it understands that the video should be viewed in full screen mode and automatically activates the panel extension. Go back to the home screen and pull out the phone itself. tasty.

On Gmail, the demo is also quite interesting. If you scroll through your inbox while the smartphone is in the 5-inch format, it behaves normally. However, if I press the button to compose a new mail, the phone screen automatically moves down to make room for the keyboard at the bottom. Again, that’s clever.

Finally, if you want to take a selfie, you can photograph yourself using the sensors on the back to enjoy better quality and you will then have a display back on the part of the screen that will be stored on the back of the smartphone. In order to get the best position.

However, if you do not want to put the smartphone back, you can simply press the button to switch to the front camera.

But where is this hiding? down the screen? Not entirely. It only reveals itself if you activate the selfie mode: the screen opens up very slightly, but at the bottom this time and that’s where the front camera can be seen. We find the same operation – with the screen only a few millimeters lower – for calls.

Motorola’s rotatable smartphone prototype at MWC 2023 // Source: Frandroid

Motorola’s rotatable smartphone prototype at MWC 2023 // Source: Frandroid

In fact, there is a slim speaker next to the selfie camera so that you can easily take your calls using the compact form of the smartphone.

Concerns about this foldable smartphone

Obviously, some concerns remain about this prototype. Can the motorized system on board survive over time without being damaged? The brand does not communicate about this. Still bearish, we can be alarmed to see that the top of the smartphone, when unfastened, is particularly thin. Seems pretty easy to break in there.

Finally, let’s highlight an inconvenient detail: the noise made by the smartphone when it is rolled or unfolded. The decibel is on the rise. Obviously we would like a more discreet device.

All of these questions are likely already in the heads of Motorola’s teams, which clearly doesn’t give a release date estimate for a potential finished and marketable model.

NB. Frandroid was able to control this product as part of a special program organized by Motorola for some technical media.

Journalist Omar Babel is in Barcelona to fully cover MWC 2023, but he is present there as part of a press trip organized by Honor.