The magical visual effect of a parchment accompanied by the same buzz as a camera deploying its zoom.
Unveiled last November in China, the Oppo X is on a European tour this week with a stop in Paris.
This roll-up or roll-up screen device - you choose - produces a “wow” effect rarely seen in recent years in a smartphone market that has turned into the Clone Wars.
In three seconds, it goes from a 6.7-inch Oled screen smartphone to a 7.4-inch tablet.
It still fits in the hand but to manipulate it requires the use of all 10 fingers.
The application or the open site then adapt smoothly to the new screen format.
Logically, some have had a bit of trouble because this homemade version of Android 11 (ColorOS) is not tailor-made for this alternative prototype that closes like a book or a wallet.
100,000 guaranteed retractions
“This first model required a year of research and development and the filing of around a hundred patents,” Oppo assures us.
The most important concern the winding system modeled on the natural movements of a caterpillar or rather in the manner of a "garage door".
The two mini motors extend and pull the screen to enlarge or retract it.
On its technical sheet, the X 2021 puts forward a guarantee of 100,000 retractions without problem.
Supported by a system of sliding plates, the flexible screen stretches and does not sag towards the inside of this obviously a little heavier device.
Like foldable models like Samsung's Fold Z or Huawei's Mate X, this screen does not have hardened glass reinforcement and therefore remains fragile and subject to the vagaries of life such as scratches and dents.
But it is more of a prototype like a concept car than a product ready for industrial mass production.
This proof of concept is mainly intended to be integrated into a future high-end model of the brand within several years, like the front camera under the screen, presented in December 2019, and still at the stadium. of exploration.