TL;DR
- A new render of the Royole FlexPai 3 has leaked.
- The foldable phone will apparently feature a major design overhaul compared to its predecessor.
- The most noticeable change is the lack of a vertical camera bar and the use of a pop-up selfie camera.
Royole launched the first foldable phone back in 2018, which now seems an awfully long time ago. The original FlexPai lacked refinement, but it did open up the niche for Samsung and Huawei to stake their claim. Now, it seems Royole is working on the third iteration of its foldable phone.
We get our first glimpse of the Royole FlexPai 3 from an image teased by tipster Evan Blass, but what can we glean from it?
Well, for starters, Royole is ditching that vertical camera bar used on the FlexPai 2. Instead, it’s opting for a square rear camera array packing at least two visible cameras. Up front, the phone seemingly has a pop-up camera for selfie and video calling duties. The lack of the vertical camera bar means the display spans across more of the phone’s front, but this doesn’t mean the FlexPai 3 gains narrower bezels or a more compact hinge.
Other details to note is a USB-C port at the phone’s bottom edge flanked by a speaker grille, while on the Flexpai 3’s right edge lies what could be a fingerprint sensor.
Royole FlexPai 3 specs
What about specs? According to a TENAA listing from February (h/t GSMArena), the Royole FlexPai 3 may use a 7.2-inch display, a relatively small 3,360mAh battery, and a body that’s 7mm thick when unfolded. This would make it more compact and possibly cheaper than its predecessor.
Notably, the FlexPai 2’s major draw was its price. It came in ~$500 cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 2 at launch. If Royole adopts a similar pricing strategy with the FlexPai 3, a sub-$1,300 price wouldn’t be out of the question. But will it be available beyond China? We’ll have to wait to find out.
What do you think of Royole’s pop-up camera design for the FlexPai 3? Let us know which selfie camera design you prefer on foldable phones by voting in our poll above.
