You’ve probably never even heard of TCL but odds are, you’ve used one of their products before. The company has a long history of making everything from TVs and washing machines to air conditioners and refrigerators. TCL also happens to be the company that took over Blackberry when the business savvy phones were on the plunge. Anyway, as of late, the company seems to have finally realised that if they’re going to be in the business of smartphones, they might as well make their own.
As such, the company ended 2019 by releasing its very first smartphone, dubbed the TCL Plex, which we actually reviewed. Not content with just mid tier releases, the company has been working behind the scenes to make us go wow, and if these new leaked images by CNET are anything to go by, they’ve done exactly that.
Foldables are so 2018! Unlike Motorola’s RAZR or Samsung’s Fold, TCL’s leaked device actually has a screen that slides out from underneath the main one. CNET’s sources say that the company had originally been banking on showing it off at MWC, but with that being cancelled and all, it never happened.
While the device looks cool and innovative and all, it doesn’t really make much sense. Unless TCL has in its possession some sort of game changing screen technology, it’s hard to really put a finger on where the secondary screen goes when the device is unexpanded. Assuming they somehow manage to pull off the sharp bend the screen would have to make in order to expand and retract, will half of the phone (the back) be left empty when expanded?
To be fair to TCL though, the phone could very well still be in its conceptual phase. MWC is the perfect platform to display those kind of things! TCL actually showed off some prototype foldable devices at a few different shows, but that has yet to result in a consumer ready product. In fact, the company’s last prototype at MWC was a foldable that was so fragile that even TCL’s staff were discouraged from touching it.
Whatever it is, it’s an interesting concept and could pave the way for future form factors. You could very well see a future Samsung or Huawei device slide out instead of fold, who knows? It’s not too crazy of an idea. One thing is for certain however, you’ll probably have to wait a good 2 years before all the kinks with foldable screens are ironed out.
