GoKawiilFoldable phones trace uneven path from Royole FlexPai to rumored iPhone Duo
The foldable phone category began in 2019 with Royole's FlexPai, an awkward but functional first commercial device using flexible OLED. Samsung's Galaxy Fold followed the same year but suffered widespread screen failures tied to a misunderstood protective layer, forcing a delay and redesign. Huawei took a different approach with the outward-folding Mate X, which looked elegant but left its display exposed to scratches and was never sold in the US due to sanctions.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
These early missteps show how foldable design choices—inward versus outward folds, hinge engineering, screen protection—shaped which approaches survived and which were abandoned. The reported struggles suggest that durability, not novelty, became the real bottleneck for foldable adoption, a lesson that likely informs how later entrants, including any rumored iPhone foldable, are being engineered.
- Royole's FlexPai in 2019 was the first commercially marketed foldable phone, despite being described as rough and janky.
- Samsung's original Galaxy Fold suffered screen failures from a misidentified protective layer, requiring a delay and re-engineering.
- Huawei's Mate X used an outward-folding design that looked sleek but exposed the screen to damage, and it was never sold in the US due to sanctions.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 — Samsung's foldable line has come a long way since the troubled original Galaxy Fold, and the Z Fold5 represents the matured, refined version of that early vision. If this history of foldables has you curious about the tech, the Z Fold5 is the most polished way to experience a modern folding display without the janky growing pains of 2019's first attempts.
See Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: engadget.com — Beatriz Valero De Urquia, 2026-10-18
Published there as: “From the Royole FlexPai to the iPhone Duo: How the modern foldable phone has evolved”
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