TCL Fold n Roll unfolds to offer a 7-inch mini-tablet canvas while pulling out the hidden rollable part stretches the screen diagonal to 8.8-inches.
At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022 show floor, TCL showcased a pair of new phone concepts — the TCL Ultra Flex that looks more like a foldable mini-tablet and the TCL Fold n Roll that blends the foldable as well as rollable display tech into the same hardware. TCL has been into the foldable phone scene for a while now, but in a rather odd way. TCL has teased both foldable and rollable devices for over two years without bringing any of them to the market.
In Feb. 2020, leaked images revealed a TCL device with a rollable screen, turning what looked like a regular phone with a pill-shaped camera cutout at the top into a tablet. TCL showcased the device a year later alongside a tri-fold tablet concept. And yet again, neither of the two ideas got a market release. Meanwhile, TCL kept releasing both entry-level as well as high-end phones at a steady pace.
MWC 2022 is here, and so is TCL, returning with a pair of new concept devices. The first one in line — and the one most likely to get a market release — is the TCL Ultra Flex. It’s a rather odd-looking phone, both in design and functional approach. It looks inspired by the Royole Flexpai that was launched back in 2018 and was touted to be the world’s first mass-market foldable phone. Specifically, the hinge design is a shared aesthetic trait between the TCL Ultra Flex and the first-gen Royole Flexpai, so is the lack of a secondary display. Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 or the Oppo Find N, there is no cover display on the TCL Ultra Flex. It’s more like an inward-folding pocket tablet. The squircle camera island at the back appears to have three lenses sitting alongside the LED flash.
Cool Tech, Doubtful Release
Things again get weird when the tablet is unfolded. There isn’t a notch or hole-punch cutout to be seen here. Instead, there’s a thick ridge on one side of the tablet with two cameras and TCL branding below it. Yet again, it’s not a unique take, as Huawei’s Mate X and Xs foldable phones took a similar approach. Not much is known about the internal hardware except for the screen specs, which is an 8-inch AMOLED panel that offers a resolution of 2480 x 1860 pixels and supports stylus input as well. The brand is mum regarding a market release for the TCL Ultra Flex at the moment. And going by the exposed hinge visible in the media assets, the device doesn’t look to be market-ready just yet.
Next in line is the TCL Fold n Roll. TCL first gave a glimpse of the device last year in the form of concept renders. Back then, the company revealed that it combines the proprietary DragonHinge tech with an extendable display, something Oppo also experimented with last year. Now, TCL finally has a few images of the actual device to share with the world. Yet again, the internal hardware is a mystery. TCL only says the panel measures seven inches when unfolded, while pulling out the rollable part expands the screen real estate to 8.8-inches with a resolution of 2880 x 2160 pixels. The device is 8mm thick and measures 18mm when folded to a phone’s form factor. TCL hasn’t shared any projections regarding a wide launch or an expected price tag.
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