Teardown of Unreleased LG Rollable Shows Why Rollable Phones Aren't a Thing (arstechnica.com)
- Reference: 0181391830
- News link: https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/26/04/06/2142225/teardown-of-unreleased-lg-rollable-shows-why-rollable-phones-arent-a-thing
- Source link: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/teardown-of-unreleased-lg-rollable-shows-why-rollable-phones-arent-a-thing/
"The complexity of the internals would have made the Rollable extremely expensive to manufacture, and it would have demanded a high price tag," reports Ars Technica. "Durability is also a big concern. There's just a lot going on inside this phone, with multiple motors, springy arms, tracks, and a screen that has to loop around the back. [...] It seems unlikely the LG Rollable could have survived daily use for multiple years." From the report:
> The LG Rollable is just one of several rollable concept phones that appeared throughout the early 2020s. Flexible OLED screens had finally become affordable, leading to foldable phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold. Although, "affordable" is relative here. Foldables were and still are very expensive devices. Based on what we can see of the complex inner workings of the LG Rollable, these devices may have commanded even higher prices. Noted YouTube phone destroyer JerryRigEverything managed to snag a working prototype LG Rollable. It may even be the unit LG [3]demoed at CES 2021 .
>
> The device looks like a regular phone at first glance, but a quick swipe activates the motor, which unfurls additional screen real estate from around the back. This makes the viewable area about 40 percent larger without the added thickness of a foldable. The device expands with the aid of two tiny motors, which are attached via straight teeth to an internal track. The screen assembly has zipper-like teeth that keep it locked into the frame as it moves. The motors make a surprising amount of noise when operating, so LG designed the phone to play a musical chime to hide the sound. While the motor does the heavy lifting, the phone also has a lattice of articulating spring-loaded arms inside that keep the OLED panel even as the frame slides side to side. The battery and motherboard sit in a tray that allows the back of the phone to expand as the OLED rolls into view.
>
> This is a prototype phone, featuring a chunky frame and visible screws. That helped Zack Nelson from JerryRigEverything successfully disassemble and reassemble the phone. So this little bit of mobile history was not destroyed, and the teardown gives us a good look at how LG was hoping to attract new customers before calling it quits.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDMpANNGND4
[2] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/04/teardown-of-unreleased-lg-rollable-shows-why-rollable-phones-arent-a-thing/
[3] https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/21/01/11/2256242/lg-teases-a-rollable-phone-at-ces-2021
What could possibly go wrong? (Score:2)
My ex didn't ask me for advice first and bought the Samsung folding phone to impress her friends. Yep, it's got a big line of non-functional pixels down the middle now, exactly as I would have expected.
Re: (Score:2)
That's exactly the problem a rolling screen solves.
Re: (Score:3)
And? Early adopters have bugs. The question is was your ex happy with the phone, not whether it lasted as long as someone other than her expected it to.
Re: (Score:2)
No such problems after two years with the Honor Magic V2. It's prone to develop bright spots on the big display though, if something pointy touches it too forcibly anywhere, which does not need that much force at all. More recent Honor folders may be somewhat improved there.
The devil is moving parts. (Score:2)
Moving parts is the curse on durability.
Todays phones have 0 moving parts. If you exclude the external buttons for volume and power etc.
Moving parts are point of failure. Moving parts almost always point to a point of dust/liguid intrusion. Moving parts are extensive to build assemble and maintain.
Rollables as designed currently are a mess of moving parts. And in this LG phone case. Motorised moving parts. Which is even worse.
I don't really think you will see a rollable until almost all moving parts
Why (Score:2)
Why would you want to roll a phone anyway?
never? (Score:2)
Until we can 3d print metal, glass, and silicon in situ. Then you just print it instead of assembling it, and possible within reach of an ambitious middle schooler when the printer technology is off-the-shelf. (So maybe when I'm 80)