Product test
SaTrend S11: It may have a different name, but it's small and made in China
by Dominik Bärlocher
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 Their folding phones were announced in the spring, but then withdrawn or postponed.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 don't know exactly how, but somehow Royole has managed to ensure that these actually good specs are either fully utilised or not fully utilised. Because the Flexpai is slow and sluggish. How can that be? Why is it like that? These are damn flagship specs. That must be better if it's true. I check the specs with CPU-Z. The app doesn't quite check the screen, but otherwise the manufacturer's specifications are correct. The performance is simply not right.
Google apps are not included, as The Great Firewall of China and the Chinese government prohibit the implementation of Google things. Or make it so difficult that it could just as easily be a ban. The major manufacturers release several versions of their phones. One for the Chinese market without Google Apps, one internationally with Google Apps. The fact that there are no Google apps, and therefore no Play Store, is not the end of the world. There are sites such as FOSSHub or APK Mirror, which offer app installation files for download. Unlike the phones from the major manufacturers, the Google apps on the Flexpai are difficult to retrofit. As a rule, you install an app from a site like OSCrunch and then it works. With Flexpai, it's slightly more complicated and then it works half-cocky and more randomly at some point.
I already hate the thing and haven't even opened the phone yet.
Not any better when unfolded
The Royole Flexpai has a screen diagonal of 7.39 inches, or 19.82cm, when unfolded. That would be great if it weren't for the fingerprints and smudges. If it were a normal screen, I'd be hard on it with window cleaner and a microfibre cloth. I don't dare to do that with the Flexpai, because the screen is not a glassy surface, but feels like the plastic packaging of a toy. I'm not entirely sure whether the phone can withstand liquids. The official specs don't mention anything about waterproofing
.
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?
The Flexpai is the first foldable phone on the open market with some international appeal. Is that why we have this disaster in phone form? So that Royole can say "we were the first"? Royole, you're not the first, you're the last. We want foldable phones, we hope that the phones with the fold will be the future. The Samsung Galaxy Fold looks good, as does the Huawei Mate X. And then such a pile of rubbish? It can happen that a manufacturer brings a bad phone onto the market, but I'm sure that either indifference or active malice was at play with Royole. The hopes of smartphone fans all over the world have been dashed. Because no matter what comes next, the Flexpai will always be my first foldable phone.
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?
The folding phone manufacturer's software also doesn't get to grips with its own product. It sometimes doesn't check which side of the screen is currently on top. Or whether you are holding the Flexpai up or down. Or whether it is on one side of the screen and you want to watch a YouTube video on the upright side. In other words, you simply get something and can then press on it. With a bit of luck, the phone will even accept your input, especially in the fold area.
But: an eye-catcher
As much as I detest the brick and would prefer never to touch it again, I have to give it one thing: It's interesting. In the office, I can hardly leave the Flexpai on the table or carry it around without someone wanting to touch it and open and close it. I often say: "It only bends in one direction and only until it's flat." It's exciting to see how people who are used to smart tech engage with new technology. I observe a playful instinct, curiosity and an almost childlike joy at the discoveries.
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.
In general, however, I am not against the concept of the foldable smartphone. But I am definitely against the Royole Flexpai. Whether the Samsung Galaxy Fold or the Huawei Mate X will do a better job remains to be seen. But it is likely, because the Flexpai sets the bar extremely low. Both the hardware and the software are rubbish. However, since even Google itself is in favour of the foldable phone model and has therefore built support for the technology into stock Android - something that never happened with the notch - foldables are likely to be the future.
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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