Motorola teases 'Rizr' concept phone with rollable display

Motorola is showcasing the 'Rizr' concept phone at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona

After bringing back the retro classic Razr flip series with modern foldable display technology, Motorola is offering the media a sneak peek at its new concept phone project RIZR with an innovative rollable screen tech at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), Barcelona.

The Moto RIZR looks like an average smartphone, but with just the press of a button, the screen expands vertically to become bigger. And after use, it can be rolled backward to turn back to a compact form factor, which can even fit in the palm of the hand.

Under its normal form, it has a 5.0-inch screen with a 15:9 aspect ratio, two-thirds of its full size- 6.5-inch with a 22:0 aspect ratio.

This is radically different from what we see in foldable phones like the modern-day Razr, where the screen just folds and bends inwards.

Also, in this new Rizr series, there is less scope for screen wearing too often and doesn't even show any visible crease, which is the case with the current crop of foldable phones.

However, Motorola's concept phone is far from being a final product. It should be noted that the display expanded in full view mode, actually bends, to move to the back of the phone and comes off as a secondary small display. It will come in handy for users to view messenger or call notifications and even to see real-time information on the weather and other information.

In future models, the phone's display may fully roll like a scroll, and I believe, this is more practical, as there will be less chance of the display, particularly the back side and at the base, getting easily damaged from accidental fall. The front can be protected with a standard phone cover, which comes with slight protrusion around the edge, and can protect the front display, even on a sturdy surface with face down.

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It remains to be seen, how soon Motorola will be able to bring the commercial phone with a rollable display to the market. Or Will Samsung beat it? Time will tell.

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