I’ve never really understood the appeal of flexible smartphones before I saw this video. Now it’s changed things forever to me. I want a Flexible iPhone! Or, better yet, an iPad! Because it’s going to open up whole new ways to interact with a device.

Queens University has unveiled the ReFlex, a prototype flexible smartphone married to a 720p flexible LG OLED display, an an Android 4.4-powered board.

What’s awesome about the ReFlex is how it uses bending the actual device to create a UI affordance. By bending the ReFlex, for example, you can flip through the pages of an eBook, or pull back a slingshot in Angry Birds. You can even use the bending mechanism as a way to pursue “eyes-free navigation, making it easier for users to keep track of where [you] are in a document,” according to Queens Media Lab director Roel Vertegaal.

This obviously isn’t a device that’s ready to go to market. It’s just a prototype. But still, the researchers believe this technology will be available for smartphone devices in five years. When it does, consider me sold: this looks like a really cool way of interacting with devices.

Source: Queens University

Via: Engadget