The basic way in which we fold and flip our phones hasn’t changed much over the past few decades, with certain trends ebbing and flowing in and out of fashion. However, Motorola’s innovative, flexible, adaptive display promises to bring some genuinely new ideas to the space, allowing you to bend and twist your phone in a way that could entirely change how you use it and what you use it for.
Motorola announced that it would be developing this ‘bendy phone’ concept back in 2023, and now, at the Mobile World Conference (MWC) 2024, our lead hardware journalist Connor Christe has had the chance to get hands-on with the device as Motorola shows off how far it’s come with its intriguing concept. Turns out, quite far: this is a phone that can also be a big clunky bangle – something between a phone and the best smartwatch.
Reporting from the event, Connor says, “The Motorola adaptive display concept phone is as peculiar as it looks. It’s long, half orange, and the material on the back almost looks weirdly like carpet. Still, despite this strange appearance, it’s a pretty cool concept, something we’ve come to expect from Motorola at MWC following last year’s showcase of a concept for a rollable phone.”
Explaining how the bendy phone works in practice, and specifically how it functions on your wrist as a bracelet, Connor continues, “to wear the device on your arm you first need a magnetic wristband. The phone then wraps around, and you can use the top part of the display as you would the cover screen on a Motorola flip phone or, if you prefer, switch the display to a watch face. Boom, now your phone is a smartwatch.”
The options don’t stop there. “You can also fold the thing into an arch and play Connect Four with a friend or use it as a bedside clock.”
With all that in mind, though, Connor recommends that you don’t get your hopes up with the expectation that you’ll be able to own this product for yourself in the near future: “It’s a proof of concept device, so we’re not expecting to see Motorola take the phone to market anytime soon.” He concludes, “But, it’s a statement of intent that this mobile brand is still dedicated to innovating, even if it’s in a slightly peculiar way.”
Connor will be reporting from MWC 2024 all week. Stay tuned for more exciting coverage.
In the meantime, read more hardware articles with our picks for the best gaming phones, and best Motorola phones. Or, see all our speculation for the Switch 2, and get to grips with the Steam Deck specs.