Foldable phones have been a thing for a few years, but there are some brands that showcased phones with rollable displays. Motorola also has a rollable concept phone with the Rizr.
Initially revealed at Lenovo Tech World 2022, Motorola is showcasing the Rizr concept phone at MWC 2023, revealing the unique design of how the rollable mechanism works.
In its unrolled and compact form, the Motorola Rizr concept has a 5-inch POLED display with an uncommon 15:9 aspect ratio. It’s more compact than most compact flagship phones in the market–with the remainder of the flexible display wrapping through the back panel. A few media outlets like Android Authority got their hands on the concept device, and it has a few quirks that make it unique.
Similar to OPPO’s idea with the X 2021, a double tap with the power button rolls the display upwards (and not sideways) to reveal the display being a 6.5-inch panel with a 22:9 aspect ratio. As the Motorola Rizr concept transforms (it takes a few seconds before it unrolls the display), the Android interface adapts to the unrolled display. To make the experience seamless, Motorola also has special wallpapers that take advantage of this.
Unrolled, the Motorola Rizr concept looks and feels like your usual flagship phone, though you don’t get any punch-hole with the display–instead, it’s hidden in another sliding mechanism, where you have both the front camera and the speaker grille.
When the display is all rolled up, the remainder of it is found in the back panel, where it functions as a secondary display that shows notifications.
As much as the approach is interesting, there are a few drawbacks. One of them is its weight, as all the complex parts contribute it to being thick and heavy at around 210 grams–even heavier than the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
There’s also concern about battery life and durability: the prototype unit shown only has a 3000mAh battery, and Motorola did not disclose at their MWC booth the rated durability of its rolling mechanism. Then there’s the protection for the sensitive flexible display, where the thin bezels only provide e few millimeters of protection.
