The world's first foldable phone maker is now out of business

Although Samsung, Motorola, Google, OnePlus, OPPO, and HONOR currently control the lion’s share of foldable phone sales worldwide, none of these brands were the first to bring a foldable smartphone to the market. Royole Technologies, a little-known Chinese OEM, launched the world’s first commercially available foldable smartphone back in 2018. Sadly, the headstart didn’t do much to help the company stay in business.

According to a recent report from IT Home (via Digitimes Asia), Royole Technologies was declared bankrupt following an investigation of its current assets and liabilities. An announcement from the Shenzhen Municipal Intermediate People’s Court states that the company could not clear its debts, and its assets were insufficient to cover all debts.

Founded in 2012, Royole Technologies invested heavily in foldable display technology. Its foldable phone, the Royole FlexPai, featured a single 7.8-inch 1440p AMOLED display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Unlike modern foldables, the FlexPai had its folding display on the outside with a chunky bezel on one side housing the front-facing camera and sensors.

In addition to the world’s first foldable phone, Royole Technologies is credited with launching the world’s thinnest full-color flexible display, the world’s first curved car dashboard based on flexible electronics, and the first smart writing pad based on flexible sensors. The company also partnered with Louis Vuitton in 2019 to launch a new line of handbags with built-in flexible displays. Despite these achievements, it failed to cover its losses, and its assets will likely be liquidated in the following months.