Royal returned with a better folding phone

Remember the first folding phone? No, it’s not Samsung’s obscure original Galaxy Fold – that beat it in the market. In obscurity, and honestly even in the foresight that followed, Royal’s Flexpie was to draw immediate attention to the fact that it only existed to achieve the world’s first position. But it’s not like it’s out of nowhere; Royal was set up a few years ago just to develop the flexible screen technology develop g, so it is understandable that the company would like to go beyond Samsung to show what it can do. A flex, if you will.

Unfortunately, Flexpie was bad. But now there’s a FlexPy 2, and it’s surprisingly good. I have been using the Chinese model for a while and can report that with some neat refinements in the design, it is a bigger improvement than the original. Samsung doesn’t have to worry much, but it’s not the target here.

Royal does not see itself as a consumer electronics company. It has partnered with hundreds of brands that are looking to offer flexible display and sensor technology to the likes of Airbus, Toyota and Louis Vuitton. A representative of Royal said Edge That company is happy with the performance of the FlexPy 2 in China so far, but will not release sales data. Although Samsung’s Galaxy Fox 2 is about ગ 500 cheaper, it’s a look for the many units it sells.

Royal also says it plans to announce global availability early next year. As such, this is not a complete review of the FlexPy 2 – my review unit was only loaded with Chinese-only software, so I can’t tell you more about the daily-driver experience. However, I can tell you that the hardware is quite impressive.

The FlexPi 2 folds the opposite way to Samsung’s Galaxy Fold devices; That is to say that the main screen goes around the outside of the curve instead of the inside, so it stays open when the hinge is closed. That’s the same approach found in Huawei’s Mate X folding phone. When folded, the FlexPi2 is about the same size and shape as the Passport, while the unfolded screen is comparable to the iPad mini.

You actually get three screens in one with the FlexPy 2, although you only use one at a time. The display is a 7.8-inch 1920 x 1440 4: 3 panel that turns into a 5.5-inch 1440 x 900 16:10 panel or a 5.4-inch 1440 x 810 16.9 panel when folded, depending on what you’re looking at half. It’s not evenly folded because there’s a huge bezel on one side of the screen that holds the phone’s QD camera.

Although the build quality is solid, a little ga thick plastic gasket on the camera on the opposite side of the screen betrays the need for a little more durability protection than your average smartphone. With an unf.8mm thick slimline metal frame, the phone looks great when folded, and without the awkward rubber concertina of the original Flexpine, has a hinge and torque. One of the advantages of Samsung’s new design over the Samsung is that it can be folded tightly without leaving a gap between the two parts of the screen.

The disadvantages are obvious in the display. The OLED panel itself looks decent enough, with good contrast and brightness, and when the resolution isn’t class-leading, it’s sharp enough at 308 ppi. The problem is that the screen has a greater radius of curvature than the Galaxy Fold, which folds at an acute angle to the inside, making more creases appear when the phone is opened. Basically, the crease is much larger. I don’t get too distracted by it, because it really appears when the light catches it the wrong way. But whenever you swipe in the middle you can definitely feel the occupation of the back of the screen, which is not ideal.

I can’t really talk about durability except to say I haven’t seen any problems with my device in my month-plus. I asked Royal for details in its own “LCT-NSSP material” Cicada Wing “display, and no representative would confirm whether it was plastic or glass, simply saying that it was made of” 100D micro-liner micro-nano material. ” They also said that it is “even after two million times. And it’s disrupted,” which I think is plastic. It definitely looks like plastic. But so does Samsung’s “ultra-thin glass.” Just know that Royal still feels premium for touching folding screens.

Inside the Flexpie 2 are high-end specs, featuring a Snapdragon 865 processor, 12GB of RAM, and a 4,450mAh battery. Whenever you want to switch up the reentry with some software issues plaguing the real Flexpine, I find the performance very good. As I said before, I couldn’t use this as a primary device because of its onboard software, but Royal’s WaterToOS seems to have improved a bit from the original FlexPy.

At 9,998 yuan or about 500 1,500, the FlexPi 2 isn’t exactly as cheap yet. And Royal’s position as a newcomer to the mobile industry is another good reason to view the device with suspicion. But my experience of the hardware has been quite positive, and Royal’s screen technol could somehow find well in other companies’ phones at some point; ZTE has been featured as the initial partner.

It’s still hard to recommend buying a folding phone from someone, but Royal deserves a little credit for making a big improvement in its initial effort. The original Flexpy was a notorious hasty attempt, but its sequel looks like a more reliable device. If the Rolls-Royce software can nail the software and maybe get a little further price for a Western release, it’s worth a look if you’re fascinated by the form factor.