The LG Rollable: the rollable smartphone that could have floored the iPhone

LG’s rollable smartphone might have been capable of knocking the iPhone off its perch. Instead, the South Korean company chose to shut down its mobile division before the device ever reached shops. Thanks to a video from Marques Brownlee’s channel, we can now see how this unusual handset was meant to work.

LG once looked well placed to become a major force in smartphones. But up against Apple, Samsung and a wave of Chinese brands, its market share steadily collapsed. In 2021, the company ultimately announced it was ending its smartphone business altogether.

Before that closure, however, LG had already been working on a futuristic phone that was ahead of its time - a concept that could have outdone the iPhone and most other devices on the market, even in 2026. The idea was to introduce an entirely new type of handset, potentially more compelling than foldables: a phone with a rollable display that expands by itself.

Years after development began, LG’s rollable-screen model - the “LG Rollable” - still sparks curiosity. This week, Marques Brownlee’s YouTube channel published a video in which the creator reveals the device exclusively, helping to clear up the remaining mysteries.

Like folding phones, a rollable display is designed to increase usable screen area. The difference is how it gets there: rather than folding and unfolding, the user performs a three-finger swipe and the screen unfurls and enlarges automatically, like a scroll.

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This approach would also have offered a practical advantage over foldables. Because the panel rolls rather than creases, there is no visible fold line - a problem foldable makers still haven’t fully solved. And when the LG Rollable isn’t extended, the extra portion of the display wraps around onto the back. That rear section could, for instance, be used to take selfies using the phone’s rear cameras.

A motorised smartphone

To expand or shrink its screen, the handset relies on a motorised system. The demonstrations in Marques Brownlee’s video suggest the mechanism is fairly powerful - strong enough, for example, to push a MacBook sitting on a table.

What remains unclear is how much this motor would have affected battery life. It also seems very likely the phone wouldn’t have been water-resistant if it had launched. Even so, judging by the footage, the LG Rollable would have delivered plenty of day-to-day benefits.

Marques Brownlee’s hands-on also complements another video, this time from JerryRigEverything. He carried out a teardown of the LG smartphone that never made it to market, revealing the details of the mechanism that allows the device to extend.

Why was this LG gem never released?

LG teased the LG Rollable during CES in January 2021, which suggested a release was already planned. However, in April 2021, the manufacturer announced it was ending its activities in the smartphone market.

“LG’s strategic decision to withdraw from the extremely competitive mobile phone sector will enable the company to focus its resources on high-growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices, smart homes, robotics, artificial intelligence and business-to-business solutions, as well as platforms and services”, the brand explained.

The issue was that, even with a technological head start, sales weren’t following. In 2020, its global market share was estimated at 2%.

What we think

Marques Brownlee’s video is a reminder that, before closing its mobile division, LG genuinely tried to reinvent the smartphone. Unfortunately, competition proved too fierce and forced the South Korean firm to make a difficult decision, prioritising more profitable activities.

That said, the technologies LG developed for its smartphone unit haven’t been entirely wasted. The company previously stated that mobile-related technologies created by its engineers could be reused in other products. It’s also worth noting that, like Samsung, LG supplies OLED displays to other brands (including Apple).

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