TCL folding smartphone "Chicago"
There are two types of folding smartphones that are talked about, "horizontal folding type" and "vertical folding type". Of these, the vertically folded smartphone is attractive because it has a large screen when opened and a compact size that fits in the palm of your hand when closed, just like an old feature phone. The "Galaxy Z Flip3 5G" released by Samsung in 2021 has become popular all over the world, and a smartphone of the same style will be released from TCL in China this year. [Photo] Chicago, which can be called the flagship model of TCL, how much will it cost? TCL's "Chicago" is a vertically folded smartphone that was scheduled to be released in 2021. Chiago is a development name, and it is said that the product name will be "TCL Flex V". It was scheduled to appear after Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, but it seems that it has been postponed for various reasons. However, due to the increasing popularity of the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G and the emergence of the vertically folding smartphone "P50 Pocket" from Huawei, it seems that TCL will launch it again in 2022. I was able to thoroughly touch the actual machine at the TCL booth of CES 2022 held in Las Vegas in January. The display size of Chicago is 6.7 inches. It is equipped with a wide-sized display with the same aspect ratio of 22: 9 as the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G. The chipset is equipped with Snapdragon 765G for middle range 5G smartphones, but it may be equipped with the latest 700 series when it is released again in 2022. The hinge part of the display is covered to prevent dust from entering. Like the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, you can't see the creases in the bends of the display, and when you open it, you'll see a perfectly flat display. TCL, a major TV manufacturer, has a display manufacturer (CSOT, Chinastar) as a subsidiary, and the company is also developing new displays for smartphones. The vertical foldable display used by Chicago is a beautiful foldable display created by TCL and CSOT to compete with Samsung's display maker Samsung Display. In the future, other smartphone makers will adopt the display installed in Chicago. With a 6.7-inch wide display, you can see more information on the SNS timeline, and it will be easy to use a multi-window that displays different apps on the top and bottom of the display. The vertically folded smartphone makes the screen size of the current smartphone even larger, but the width of the main body is reduced, and when folded, it becomes a compact size. Even when talking on the phone, the main unit is vertically long, making it easy to hold. In addition, the combination of the hinge and the champagne gold color of the frame part gives an elegant impression to the main body with a shade between beige and light pink. Together with the vertically long display shape on the outside, it seems that people around you will be paying attention, saying, "You are using a slightly different smartphone." The hinge part is strong, but you can close it with one hand. Since it can be opened and closed smoothly with one hand, it is not a pain to open it from the closed state. As with feature phones, the smoothness of hinge movement is an important factor in folding smartphones. When the main body is completely folded, there are no gaps. It feels beautiful from the side. Speaking of which, the side-folding smartphones recently released by OPPO and Honor also have no gaps when closed. Folding smartphones after 2022 are likely to have a "zero gap", that is, no gaps when closed. When closed, the out-display is 1.9 inches, 260x512 pixels. It is a touch panel and it is also possible to start the camera application. It also supports the display of notifications. The camera has a dual specification of 12 million pixels standard (wide-angle) and ultra-wide-angle. You can also take a selfie with the external display as a preview screen, so you can take high-quality selfies. The camera on the inner display is equipped with 10 million pixels. Vertically foldable smartphones are characterized by a wide screen when opened and a small size that fits in the palm of your hand when closed, but Chicago supports flex mode where you can use the app by opening the display halfway. This is a function installed in the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, but when the main body is opened in an L shape, the screen of the application will be displayed separately in the upper half and the lower half. With the camera app, the upper side is the preview screen, and the lower side is the shutter and settings. In flex mode, it's easy to put Chiago on the table and take a selfie or video conference with the in-camera. It's also a good idea to use an out-camera to capture the scenery outside. If you put Chicago on your desk, you can easily take pictures and videos without using a tripod. The release date for Chicago is undecided, but Samsung has released the Galaxy Z Flip3 5G at a strategic price of $ 999, so TCL may be worried about how to set the price. TCL would have wanted to give a premium price to a model equipped with an advanced display, but the price of the horizontal folding smartphone "Find N" announced by OPPO in December 2021 is 7,699 yuan, about $ 1,200. The price of folding smartphones has been declining at a stretch since the latter half of 2021. On the other hand, the vertically foldable smartphone, which has a compact size, has a good appearance and is also a fashion item. With only a few rivals Samsung, Huawei and Motorola, there is no doubt that TCL's release of Chicago will be a big topic around the world. It is a product that we are looking forward to launching in the market within the year.
Yasuhiro Yamane + Ayano Tominaga
