Royole launches new bendable phone at competitive price

Royole Corp, a Shenzhen-based startup developing flexible screens, launched its second-generation bendable phone on Tuesday. The FlexPai 2, priced at 9,988 yuan ($1,470), is the first 5G flexible phone to cost less than 10,000 yuan.

Several phone makers have jumped on the bandwagon for foldable phones in the last two years, including Huawei and Samsung, with prices ranging from 12,000 to 23,000 yuan. Royole states its new phone crosses the final threshold of the popularization of flexible phones.

The phone-tablet hybrid features an outward-facing flexible screen which can be folded from 7.8 to 5.4 inches.

Startup founder Bill Liu announced the panel could last over 1,800,000 bends, meaning it can be used for 50 years even if folded 100 times every day, while the majority of its kind on the market can only support up to 300,000 bends.

Founded in 2012 by Stanford University graduate Bill Liu, Royole rolled out its first flexible phone in 2018. In the same year, its massive 100,000-square-meter production base at Longgang district in Shenzhen was put into use.