The first company to launch a smartphone with a foldable AMOLED display… did an underwhelming job of it the first time around.
But Chinese company Royole is giving foldable phones another try. The Royole FlexPai 2 is now available for purchase in China for about $1470 and up. While that’s not exactly cheap, it does mean the phone has a starting price about 25-percent lower than the cost of a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2.
When the screen is unfolded, the FlexPai 2 is basically a 7.8 inch Android tablet with a 1920 x 1440 pixel display. But the screen can be folded in half, giving you the equivalent of a 5.5 inch primary display with a resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels, plus a 5.4 inch, 1440 x 810 pixel rear display.
First unveiled in March, the FlexPai 2 features a new flexible display that Royole says is brighter, has a faster response time, and folds flatter than the screen used in the first-gen FlePai.
The specs have also been upgraded, with the new model featuring:
- Qualcomm Snpadragon 865 processor
- 8GB RAM/256GB storage or 12GB RAM/512GB storage
- 64MP primary, 16MP ultra-wide, 8MP 3X telephoto and 32MP portrait cameras
- 4,450 mAh battery
All of the cameras are on the same side of the phone – they face forward when the screen is unfolded, or back when the screen is folded in half. But since there’s a secondary display area on the back of the phone, you can use the same cameras whether you’re snapping selfies or shooting landscapes. And if you’re taking a portrait of someone, both of you can see what the shot will look like, with the image appearing on both screens.
Royole has also added a small touch area below the cameras, allowing you to wake the device from standby with a double tap or to double tap when using the phone to switch to split-screen mode.
The Royole FlexPai 2 ships with a custom version of Android 10 and supports 5G networks in China and Europe, with limited support for US bands.
