Product test
CMF Phone 2 Pro test: now with NFC and three cameras
by Jan Johannsen
Royole Flexpai tested: What the Actual Fuck is This?
11.9.2019
Translation: machine translated
Video: Manuel Wenk
The Royole Flexpai is foldable and probably the worst phone of the year. However, this is not due to the concept but the subterranean realisation. But you have to give it credit for one thing: It awakens the urge to play.
Samsung and Huawei have both backed out. Their folding phones were announced in the spring, but then withdrawn or postponed. A Chinese company has taken advantage of this and so the Royole Flexpai lands on my desk.
It is an outrage that this part is being offered on the open market.
One thing first: you will see many pictures of a smudged screen in this article. Why is it smudged? Because it's almost impossible to clean. I hate the screen. I hate this phone. Fucking brick.
But well, from the front.
Why is the device so slow?
The smartphone weighs 351 grams without SIM card and runs on a Snapdragon 855, the current best system-on-a-chip (SoC) from manufacturer Qualcomm. Plus 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory. Doesn't sound too bad. It runs a modified version of Android, which manufacturer Royole calls "Water OS". Water, because it flows. Like water.
Bullshit.
I already hate the thing and haven't even opened the phone yet.
Not any better when unfolded
The screen is uneven, ugly and bends. The resolution is poor, as is the brightness. The touch sensitivity is abysmal, especially when bent. When it is unfolded, you can feel the waves in the fold. In general, the screen, which is idiotically always on the outside of the part, feels cheap. Like cheap plastic. I don't dare bring it into contact with moisture. Has nobody tested this at Royole? And if they did, who authorised it and for what reasons?
Water OS is a shot in the dark
Then there's Water OS, an Android version customised by Royole. It should be better, flow like water. Brackish water perhaps. Or something swampy. Android is an operating system that is originally published in English. So how is it even possible that some parts of the software are not translated into English, even if you force the system to speak English?
But: an eye-catcher
Because if there's one thing I have to give the Royole Flexpai credit for, it's this. It brings out the explorer in all of us, not just the user. I'd like to see more of that in general.
So, that's it. I'll put it in the cupboard, calm down and wait for the Fold or the Mate X. Then I can compare directly. <p
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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