Royole FlexPai 2 foldable phone will have 5G and a ‘mechanically robust’ hinge

Chinese phone-maker Royole gave us a sneak peek of what to expect from its second foldable phone, the FlexPai 2, claiming it’ll deliver “significant improvements in every possible way.” 

Chinese phone-maker Royole gave us a sneak peek of what to expect from its second foldable phone, the FlexPai 2, claiming it’ll deliver “significant improvements in every possible way.” The new handset will have a 7.8-inch screen, the newest Snapdragon 865 chipset, a Kyro 585 processor, high-speed LPDDR5 RAM, and 5G capability for nine different bands covering regions including the US, Europe and China, according to Bill Liu, CEO of Royole. 

Along with a new “wearproof” and “mechanically robust” hinge called the “super seamless and stepless hinge,” which runs along the back of the device, the FlexPai 2 will also feature a “thinner and lighter” design than the Royole Flexpai, Liu said. 

The specs were revealed on Tuesday at an event focused on the announcement of its third-gen Cicada Wing display. Royole’s new flexible screen will first make an appearance on the FlexPai 2 but could potentially be used by other manufacturers such as ZTE.

Royole put itself on the map at CES 2019, when it became one of the world’s first companies to release a foldable phone, beating both Samsung and Huawei to the punch with its FlexPai. The original FlexPai has a bendable 7.8-inch AMOLED screen made of flexible plastic and a 1440p resolution. It folds open and closed like a book. But it also suffers from a clunky, prototype-like design and an unimpressive user interface. 

Since its launch, the FlexPai has mostly been forgotten. Foldable phone rivals such as the Motorola Razr, Samsung Galaxy Fold and Z-Flip phones and the Huawei Mate XS were quickly launched, packing superior performance, features and design.

The FlexPai 2 won’t be officially unveiled until next quarter, Royole said.

Key specs

• Processor: Snapdragon 865
• Display: 7.8 inch flexible display with a 4:3 aspect ratio
• Cameras: Quad-camera module expected
• UFS 3.0 storage
• Dual speakers
• 5G capability