At MWC 2024, I tried Motorola’s bendable concept phone that wraps around wrist

I had a hands-on demo of the Motorola bendable phone earlier today, and here are my first impressions of the smartphone-watch hybrid.

As a concept, Motorola’s bendable smartphone is built on the same foundation as foldables: to experiment with a phone form factor that departs from the same old rectangular slabs people have been using since the iPhone. However, Motorola’s idea of a wearable phone requires a flexible display that transforms the smartphone into a hybrid of a smartphone and a smartwatch. This, if you ask me, is the difference between a foldable phone and a bendable phone. While a foldable phone still remains a device that stays in your pocket, Motorola envisions a phone that wraps around your wrist.

The concept phone is seen in tent mode. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

Motorola’s concept phone features a 6.9-inch screen with a bendable, woven-fabric back material. It’s a soft fabric on the backplate, very much reminiscent of the fabric headband that comes with the Apple Vision Pro.

Another component of the bendable phone is the wristband that magnetically attaches to it using magnets. The accompanying band helps secure the phone on the wrist. However, I must mention that attaching the phone to the band takes at least one or two attempts before you feel confident that the device won’t fall off. Once securely attached, you can use the phone as a bracelet.

Since the phone bends, it can be used in various stand modes. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

Yes, it works, and this novelty breeds curiosity in your mind, which is exactly what Motorola’s intention is with a bendable phone. The phone that can wrap around your wrist may sound interesting, but it’s not very comfortable to wear for a longer duration. The trouble is, to have a wearable phone that looks too big on your wrist, you would have to change user behavior, which isn’t easy. But I must say the software adapts really well for a screen that bends and takes a different shape. I could access my apps,  play a game, and even check the time when using the phone as a bracelet.

But then, the concept phone isn’t limited to being worn as a bracelet. A Motorola employee showed how the concept bendable phone can take different shapes and be used as a regular phone with a 6.9-inch screen or become a more compact device in the upright position.

When laid flat, its 6.9-inch screen can be used just like a standard phone. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

For me, at least, the more interesting part was how a bendable phone changes how I interact with a smartphone, even for a few minutes. Definitely, the concept where the phone wraps around your wrist felt futuristic, but I am not too sure whether this device is the one that we all want to change the course of smartphones in the future. That being said, for Motorola, pulling off a bendable phone, even though it’s a proof-of-concept device for now, wasn’t easy. I am told Motorola used a bendable pOLED display and a number of smaller batteries (instead of a big one found on a typical phone) arranged in such a way that the human spine works, allowing the phone to bend. Not surprisingly, Motorola isn’t bringing the bendable phone to the market anytime soon. But we’re getting closer to smartphones that can change shape.

The writer is in Barcelona, Spain attending the Mobile World Congress at the invitation of Xiaomi India