With Samsung kicking things off and Huawei already chasing close behind, the race to foldable smartphones is on and you can’t discount anyone from this race with TCL showing their hand today in Barcelona too.

Less about product, and more about innovation (in the same way that Oppo was showing off 10x Zoom and 5G without a device), TCL have announced a flexible display portfolio as well as a new DragonHinge technology to work alongside it.

As a custom manufacturer of screens, TCL will no doubt seek to sell their technology to companies looking to create a foldable phone, and their own brand Alcatel could be one of them in the very near future.

“Together with the support of our sister company, CSOT, we’re showing that TCL can be an innovator and leader in the mobile device market of the future,” said Peter Lee, General Manager, Global Sales and Marketing at TCL Communication.

“When we look at the potential of our flexible device portfolio, we’re obviously very excited about what we’ll be bringing to market down the road. However, we’re not in a race to be the first because we feel it is more responsible to take a patient, thoughtful approach to not only solve hardware challenges, but also work with our partners on software solutions to ensure we deliver a meaningful user experience.”

Any devices shown here at Mobile World Congress will be concepts only, with ready-for-market devices expected next year.

EFTM’s coverage of Mobile World Congress 2019 is supported by Vodafone, Huawei and Oppo.