Motorola Rizr hands-on: Refreshing and unique, but the rollable screen could be its Achilles’ heel

The Motorola concept phone has a 5-inch device with a flexible POLED display that covers the front of the phone, then rolls around the bottom edge and continues almost halfway up the back. Press a button and the phone’s motorised components push the top of the device upward, revealing a larger 6.5-inch 22:9 display that looks just like a regular phone. This type of design not only gives you a bigger screen for watching movies or scrolling through a Twitter feed when needed but the form factor offers a more pocketable version of a normal smartphone available on the market. Think about it that way. The Motorola Rizr morphs into a big phone when you want it to be. Most of the time, it will be a small phone that’s easy to slide into the pocket.

Motorola Rizr isn’t weird as Samsung’s tri-foldable concept device (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia / Indian Express)

Using it

The rollable display may be Rizr’s defining feature, but it also makes the phone thicker than most other phones I have used in recent years. But the Motorola Rizr isn’t weird as Samsung’s tri-foldable concept device, which is also being showcased at the Mobile World Congress.

You interact with the phone as you often do by touching its screen. Even as a concept phone, the Motorola Rizr is technically usable. Tap the power button twice and the phone’s screen rolls up and down. The phone’s screen expands in a flash and it’s got satisfying action. But I am a little worried about how Motorola will tweak the software tailored for the rollable form factor. I briefly opened a YouTube app on the phone, and the screen extends itself when you watch a video. For me, though, the rollable screen on the phone is more useful when typing an email and needs extra keyboard space.

The screen on the Motorola Rizr looks very fragile when it’s in expanded form (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia / Indian Express)

Motorola Rizr leaves some lingering questions unanswered

The Motorola Rizr left me with many answered questions. For example, the screen on the Motorola Rizr looks very fragile when it’s in expanded form. Although I didn’t notice any flex on the screen, it does make me a little awkward using the phone. Another concern is the risk of screen scratches on both sides. So when the phone is in the closed position, the display wraps around the phone to the back, and while I liked the concept of a real-facing display for notifications, there’s a high chance the screen is susceptible to scratches. This, I suspect, is where the durability aspect of rollable devices comes into question. I feel devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 4 (review) and Motorola’s own Razr (review) are better protected due to their interior flexible display, unlike the Rizr where the flexible display is on both the front and back.

As a concept device, the Motorola Rizr is impressive (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia / Indian Express)

Am I impressed with the Motorola Rizr?

As a concept device, the Motorola Rizr is impressive. Maybe there are reasons why the rollable device makes sense, though. But I also believe getting a rollable device into the hands of people might be more challenging than foldable phones due to the fragile nature of rollable screens. That said, I do appreciate Motorola’s efforts at thinking a little differently and out of the box to make our smartphones better than the current phone form factors that are available on the market. For now, Motorola has no plans to make the Rizr a commercial product and the reasons for not launching the device in the market are very much clear.