More folding, flexible smartphones launch at Mobile World Congress, from Huawei, LG, and TCL

Smartphones that bend, flex, and fold may be hard to avoid this year as more companies show off futuristic, big-screen devices.

Smartphones that bend, flex, and fold in two have been confirmed as the hot ticket tech item of the year after more companies joined the trend in Barcelona today.

The world’s biggest mobile phone conference saw the launch of two innovative smartphones with more screen real estate than usual, and more concept phones and folding hinges to create the futuristic gadgets.

The unusual phones follow the early launch of Samsung’s Galaxy Fold in San Francisco last week, which features two screens, six cameras, folds in two, and is expected in Australia in the first half of the year.

The company’s Chinese rival, Huawei, stole the spotlight on the first day of Mobile World Congress, as chief executive Richard Yu unveiled its highly anticipated folding phone.

Unlike Samsung’s smartphone, the Huawei Mate X will feature just one large screen that folds outwards, transforming a 6.6-inch smartphone into an 8-inch tablet.

READ MORE: Samsung’s folding phone may not be ready

The Huawei Mate X smartphone will feature a folding screen that expands to become an 8-inch display.

The phone also features a column that houses its cameras and can be used to hold the device and, in an advantage over the Samsung Galaxy Fold, will support 5G connections.

“It represents a voyage into the uncharted,” Mr Yu said.

The phone was shown behind a glass case, however, is likely to cost more than Samsung’s folding phone at upwards of $3600, and there’s no word on an Australian launch date.

LG also joined the futuristic phone trend, albeit in an unusual way, with the launch of its V50 ThinQ 5G smartphone.

The 6.4-inch device can be used as a standard Google Android smartphone, or users can attach a second, 6.2-inch panel for a dual screen experience.

Huawei CEO Richard Yu displays the new Huawei Mate X foldable 5G smartphone at the Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, Spain. Picture: AP Photo/Manu Fernandez

The set-up is designed to appeal to users who want to see more apps at once or use two screens for gaming — one panel for a controller, the other for gameplay.

Telstra confirmed it would bring the 5G device to Australia exclusively at its launch.

Forrester principal analyst Thomas Husson said the Mate X showed Huawei was keen to take on Samsung head-to-head, but credited LG for its more down-to-Earth take on the folding phone.

“The attachable second screen for the V50 is a practical, likely more affordable alternative to folding tablets,” he said.

Flexible phones were also on show in Barcelona from TCL, which displayed concept creations using its newly created DragonHinge technology, and from Chinese manufacturer Royole Corporation, which showed off its FlexPai smartphone currently available for pre-order by Chinese consumers at a cost of $2217.

Originally published as More folding, flexible smartphones launch at Mobile World Congress, from Huawei, LG, and TCL