At this year’s Lenovo Tech World event, Motorola unveiled their concept for a bendable smartphone.
“The adaptive display concept can be adjusted from a standard Android phone experience in a flat position…”
“…to being wrapped for a wrist-worn experience…”
“…or positioned in several stand modes.”
The concept doesn’t make much sense to me. As a wristwatch it’s obviously too chunky for practical use, and bending the phone in any of the other configurations requires sacrificing usable screen space. As the company explains, “When laid flat, the 6.9? display runs a full Android experience, just like any smartphone. In the upright position, the device can be adjusted into a self standing position, running a more compact form of full Android on a 4.6? display.”
The bendable form raises a lot of questions: How would the form behave when stored in a pocket? In a bag, could it be caught between two objects and bent to the point of breaking? What happens if it’s dropped while in a U-shape, concentrating the point of impact on one area of the screen? It might be fun to see what kinds of protective cases aftermarket designers might come up with, though I imagine they’d be chunky; I’m picturing something with tank-tread-like elements running around the perimeter.
In any case, it’s just a concept, and not a working prototype; Motorola’s presumably gauging consumer interest. I’ll be surprised if it’s high.
