Oppo unveils rollable smartphone

Chinese smartphone vendor Oppo unveiled a rollable concept smartphone on Tuesday, as the company continues to shake up the handset design with technological innovations despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

With a simple swipe on a button, the Oppo X 2021 concept smartphone is able to transform between a regular 6.7-inch size and a 7.4-inch size that is like a small tablet. With the transformation, the software interface will also be adapted accordingly to match the screen size.

"It's important to build technical capabilities, but it's even more important to innovatively integrate them," said Levin Liu, Oppo's vice-president and head of Oppo Research Institute, in OppoInno Day 2020 on Tuesday.

Liu explained the key technologies of the fresh smartphone, where the roll motor powertrain enables the OLED panel laminate onto a "warp track", which means that the motors underneath the display can achieve a zero-crease screen.

Despite the challenges brought by the COVID-19, Oppo has stepped up innovative efforts and expanded its footprint in in the global tech arena. Currently, its products are available in over 40 countries and regions.

Tony Chen, founder and CEO of Oppo, pointed out that the company is determined to pursue "virtuous innovation", which promotes technology for mankind and kindness for the world and said that that the firm will set forth the 3+N+X technology development strategy for Oppo's long-term development.

"Oppo leverages technology to empower people to capture the beauty around them and to unleash their imagination of the future, thereby helping everyone get the best out of life,"Chen said.

He explained that 3 refers to three underlying technologies, including the hardware, software and services technologies, while N represents a number of the firm's essential capabilities, like artificial intelligence, security and privacy, multimedia, and interconnectivity.

X refers to differentiated technologies and strategic resources, such the flash charge technology, that can foster innovation and greatly improve user experience, he added.

At the same event, the company debuted the Oppo AR Glass 2021, a follow-up to its original model from last December. Adopting a brand-new split design, the new glass is compact and ultra-light, nearly 75 percent lighter than its predecessor.

Another latest demonstration by Oppo was its CybeReal concept AR application, which offers high-precision AR positioning with real-time, spatial calculation technology.