In terms of what\u2019s new in the smartphone world right now from companies trying to push the design envelope, foldables are certainly a hot topic of discussion thanks to what Samsung is doing with handsets like the Galaxy Z Flip and its successor to last year\u2019s original Galaxy Fold that will come sometime later this year. Meanwhile, leaked images have been circulating today showing a new expandable, slide-out form factor for a prototype phone that Chinese electronics brand TCL was reportedly planning to show off at this year\u2019s Mobile World Congress, the largest mobile trade show in the world that was set to kick off later this month but which has been scuttled completely as a result of ongoing concerns about the coronavirus.<\/p>\n
The leaked images, which you can check out below, come via CNET<\/em>, and they depict a phone that you pull out from the side to expand into a bigger device. A form factor, of course, that\u2019s distinct from Samsung\u2019s foldables that have a screen you can bend and close shut like a book. Foldables, meet your new rivals for the title of weirdest smartphone form factor yet \u2014 expandables.<\/p>\n As you can see below, the prototype is said to have curved screens on both sides, and it looks like you pull out from the right-hand side to expand the surface area of the display:<\/p>\n TCL\u2019s name is an acronym for \u201cThe Creative Life,\u201d so it\u2019s perhaps no surprise that TCL seems to be getting even more creative with their smartphone designs. Whether mainstream consumers would ever warm to something like this is another question entirely, but TCL has been increasingly moving in this experimental direction. This TCL phone design we told you about back in October, for example, is a foldable handset that opens up accordion-style.<\/p>\n TCL made an appearance at IFA 2019 the month before that design was shown to present its Butterfly hinge that allows a phone screen to fold inward. Unlike Samsung, however, TCL has an audience that tends to be more price-conscious than the kind of consumer who\u2019s able to spend $1,980 on an experimental foldable handset \u2014 meaning these TCL experiments, interesting as they are, aren\u2019t liable to get a big push from the company anytime soon, if you ask me.<\/p>\n \n\tImage Source: Michael Nelson\/EPA\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \n\t\tAndy is a reporter in Memphis who also contributes to outlets like Fast Company and The Guardian. When he\u2019s not writing about technology, he can be found hunched protectively over his burgeoning collection of vinyl, as well as nursing his Whovianism and bingeing on a variety of TV shows you probably don\u2019t like.\t<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ww-vb.mine.nu\/w108\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Feast-your-eyes-on-these-leaked-images-of-TCL\u2019s-weird.png\")
Image Source: CNET<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/ww-vb.mine.nu\/w108\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1580530133_630_All-four-major-US-wireless-carriers-are-suffering-outages-right.png\")
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