Foldables might be the current obsession of smartphone manufacturers across the globe — withOnePlus most recently getting in on the fun— but there’s an even more futuristic form factor on the horizon. It wasn’t long ago that we seemed destined to see the arrival of commercial rollable smartphones, but LG left the market just before its expandable phone could hit shelves. Despite alate-stage prototype making its way out into the world, we’ve been stuck with nothing but rumors andconcept phonesever since.
Motorola’s rollable— officially called the Rizr, after its sliding candybar phone from the ’00s — is similarly categorized as a concept, but unlike models from Samsung and Oppo, the company is allowing its model to fall into the hands of journalists like myself. Although my time with the Rizr was equal parts brief and limited, it stands out as one of the most exciting ideas at this year’sMobile World Congress, even if it left me with plenty of questions concerning exactly how rollables could fit into the real world.
At first glance, the most striking thing about the Rizr is its sheer size. When it’s rolled up, Moto’s concept sports a 5" display — miniscule by today’s standards of phablets and foldables. Similarly, the square-ish aspect ratio calls to mind phones from a decade ago, not the ultra-tall devices from Sony or Samsung we’ve grown used to in 2023. A double-tap of the power button changes that, causing the display panel featured on the back to extend upwards into a 6.5" panel that matches anything you’ll see on a modern device.
It’s difficult to explain just how odd the sensation of a gadget changing sizes in your hand feels. Truthfully, I watched Moto’s concept extend back and forth more than a dozen times before I tried it myself, both behind glass and during my limited demo. The vibration might even catch you off guard if you’re not prepared, especially considering certain apps cause the display to automatically unroll. Opening a YouTube video in full-screen or opening the keyboard in Gmail, for example, both act as triggers, giving you additional screen real estate when necessary while keeping the main chassis small and pocketable.
When extended, the Rizr looks like any other smartphone — at least from the front. Turn the phone to its side and you’ll see just how thin the display’s top portion really is.
Motorola chose to keep the front-facing camera hidden behind the screen, which means it can’t be accessed when the screen is fully unrolled. In its smaller state, switching to selfie mode in the camera app actually rolls the display even further backwards to reveal the lens. It’s a similar story with the earpiece for placing phone calls, as it’s located next to the front-facing camera.
Thankfully, capturing selfies with the rear lenses is possible as well, thanks to the back-facing portion of the screen when rolled. It’s best to think of this as the cover screens on any modern flip phone, capable of showing incoming calls and other brief notifications.
It’s hard not to be excited about a gadget as futuristic as this, but imagining it as a daily driver forced some hard questions that, potentially, could leave rollables in the concept stage for good. First and foremost is durability. Whether it was in my limited hands-on time or behind glass, Motorola is showing the Rizr off in a custom plastic case. According to a representative, the company built it to ensure accessories like cases could function on similar devices should they ever hit store shelves. Still, it’s concerning to me that the only place we’ve seen the Rizr without a case is in Lenovo’s own press videos.
The idea of resting this phone on its display makes me shudder.
Not that a case would solve all of the company’s durability concerns anyway. The display’s top portion is so thin — and, as you can see in these photos, unprotected by a case — that I find it difficult to imagine it surviving more than a couple of falls. The same goes for its plastic OLED screen. While foldables protect their sensitive panels when closed, Motorola’s screenisthe phone, front and back. The demo unit I interacted with was in decent shape considering it’s being shown at a trade show, but that’s not to say there weren’t some serious dings and scratches. I’m just not sure how well this phone would hold up, especially considering modern expectations require a smartphone to last for years to come.
Then there’s that automated motor. It’s useful, obviously, to have the display extend when the keyboard opens in apps like Gmail, giving you immediate access to a larger space to craft longer emails, or in messaging apps, where you can view more of any given conversation thread. In the real world, though, I can see this shortcut growing frustrating fast. This isn’t like opening and closing a foldable — it takes a few seconds for the display to unroll each time, and in a fast-paced back and forth conversation, you’ll feel it.
Setting your phone down just to find yourself waiting for the motor to reactivate moments later isn’t ideal. It’s possible Motorola could allow you to disable this shortcut for quicker access to the camera, but then you’ll be stuck typing on a much smaller screen until you manually activate it using the power button shortcut. Basically, it feels like a lose-lose situation, with downsides compared both to foldables and standard smartphones.
Then again, all of these concerns feel like an exact repeat of the earliest foldable teases, and it’s clear that — at least within a generation or two — many of those predicted issues didn’t actually bear out. Even with Motorola sticking to presenting the Rizr as a concept, itdoesfeel like we’re barreling towards some kind of eventual product launch, no matter these potential problems. LG’s efforts might have not made it to market, but the rollable dream isn’t dead just yet.
