The first foldable phone is a reality – the FlexPai.
Well, it’s actually a tablet as unfolded it boasts a 7.8” screen (4:3 aspect
ratio). Folded, that drops to a more manageable 4”. And get this, this device
is the first to use the 7nm Snapdragon 8150. Back to the screen, it’s an
AMOLED that folds down the middle. The software (dubbed Water OS) switches to
using only half of the screen, displaying a wallpaper on the other half.
You get to choose which half you use, one
has slightly more screen, the other is next to the dual camera, which can be
used for selfies and video calls in this configuration. It’s a 16+20MP camera,
by the way, the second camera module has a telephoto lens.
The FlexPai measures 7.6mm thick. However, it doesn’t
fold flat so it’s thicker than than 15.2mm when folded (certainly near the
“hinge”). The hinge is rated to being folded 200,000 times. The device is powered by a 7nm
Qualcomm chipset and only the Snapdragon 8150 fits that description. The base
configuration has 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage, but other options include 8/256
and 8/512GB. A proprietary Ro-Charge fast charging tech is supported – it goes
from 0% to 80% in an hour.
The price starts at CNY 9,000 - US$ 1,300/€ 1,135 –
which doesn’t seem so high considering that some Android flagships cost that
much without a next-gen chipset or a foldable design.