Gadgetory

- Hey guys, I'm Vlad with The Verge, here at MWC 2019 and we're taking a look at a foldable phone prototype from TCL. So TCL is a brand you probably know from its TVs. It also sells phones under the Alcatel, BlackBerry and Palm brands, but displays are the company's bread and butter so to speak. So this is why we're looking at this foldable display here. I am not allowed to touch it. I am not allowed to even get too near it. And in its present state, I would really describe it as a folded device, rather than a foldable device because nobody is going to show us it folding, opening and closing whatever. One of the not obvious challenges with a foldable display is actually the hinge. There's a whole bunch of engineering that needs to go into the hinge. And TCL has even branded its own design, its called the Dragonhinge. It has gears on the inside. It does take a lot to make this thing fold and open and close properly without breaking. Now having said that, we do have five different devices in front of us and they're very different. One is the 7.2 inch foldable. One is a phone that seems to fold inwards like a wallet. Another is rather like a small Galaxy Fold, which has a display on the outside as well as a foldable display on the inside. TCL says that is headed to a 2020 retail device, hopefully. I'm not really sure how that's gonna fit in under the Alcatel or BlackBerry or Palm names, but the main point here is that we have yet another contender. Now we already have Samsung with the Galaxy Fold and TCL is getting into that as well. Now with TCL because of its brand positioning, the company wants to make things more affordable. This is why its not doing anything in 2019. The only devices that you're going to get affordable in 2019 are first of all going to be very compromised such as I myself saw with the Royal FlexPai. Or super expensive as you have with Samsung's Galaxy Fold. TCL doesn't want to get involved in that. It wants to do something more affordable, more mainstream and this is why its heading towards 2020. So aside from a 7.2 inch functional prototype that TCL has here, the company is exploring a whole bunch of other applications as well. You can have even smartphones which are going to fold around your wrist, essentially become a wearable smartphone. Now these again are pure concepts, we're not seeing any working prototypes of them, but that's the variety that the company is exploring with its designs. One of my concerns with all of these foldable devices is what are they going to look like when they're folded close. How big is the gap in the hinge going to be? And how is that going to translate into a device that you actually want to carry in your pocket? Hopefully we'll learn more about that as MWC 2019 goes on. But this for now, is our first look at TCL's 7.2 inch working, folded, somewhat, prototype. Hey guys, I'm Vlad with the (mumbles). (laughs) It's too early in the morning. - [Man] First one, first one, and go. - We're going to have plenty more videos coming out here from MWC 2019 in Barcelona. So for more foldable, folded, 5G, no 6G sorry things, stay tuned to TheVerge.com and Youtube.com\TheVerge.