#CES2019 – We know that many are anticipating the Samsung foldable smartphone due to the fact that for the longest time ever, Samsung was pretty much the only company to be pursuing the technology. The company did give us a bit of a teaser last year, with plans to officially launch the handset this year.
However it seems that Samsung might have already been beaten to the punch. A company by the name of Royole has since launched the FlexPai which by all accounts is the world’s first foldable smartphone. The device was shown off at CES 2019 and it acts pretty much like you’d expect: it can be folded in half to double up as a phone, or unfolded to be used as a tablet.
It even features the use of some of 2019’s flagship tech, such as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, which once again seems like it is the first smartphone to be launched in 2019 that uses it. It will also feature 6-8GB of RAM, 128GB and 256GB storage options, a dual 16MP+20MP rear-facing camera setup, and Android 9.0 Pie. It will also sport a display of 7.8-inches when unfolded with a QHD resolution.
Now in terms of design, it’s not necessarily the sleekest handset we’ve seen to date, but we can’t blame Royole for that because just like folding a piece of paper, it does get bulky when it is folded. Now the jury is still very much out on whether foldable phones will be the next big thing in smartphones, but for $1,318 for the developer version, you will be able to get your hands on it.