This is the world's first foldable smartphone: The Royole FlexPai.

Here's how the phone works, according to this ad.

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And a hands-on demonstration.

We got our hands on the 'World's first foldable phone,' the @RoyoleOfficial Flexpai. #ces2019 pic.twitter.com/pHsqniERtv

— Digital Trends (@DigitalTrends) January 9, 2019

Cool.

Basically, when you fold the screen, the phone gets effectively divided into two parts, with the hinge serving as a notification screen of sorts.

Like this.

Which means it's not really a flat fold, but rather shows off more of a folded book aesthetic.

Here are the specs.

Royole Flexpai, a flexible smartphone is a available to buy now.

- 7.8inch display
- Snapdragon 855
- 20 + 16mp Dual cameras
- 4:3, 16:9 and 18:9 aspect ratios
- Fast charge
- 8999 Chinese RMB
- Dual speakers
- Split screen mode pic.twitter.com/nYfIz83FQm

— GadgetsBoy (@GadgetsBoy) January 7, 2019

RMB8,999 is roughly S$1,787.

However, it is not expected to be coming to Singapore anytime soon.

The FlexPai has a 3,800 mAh battery, which is decent, but smaller flagship phones from both Samsung and Huawei have larger batteries for smaller devices.

The camera has this cool way of turning from a selfie camera to a rear camera, but a side effect is accidentally launching the camera one too many times.

Which means the only real stand-out, as well it should be, is the fact that this phone is foldable.

Reception

The reception of the phone though, flexibility and all, has been quite divided, to say the least.

Some of the problems include the price, the general lagginess of the phone, and the fact that, at least for now, the foldability serves as a detriment rather than a novel feature.

In fact, even when the phone is in its "tablet" mode, the screen is not completely flat.

Checking out the Royole FlexPai at #CES2019 – the first of many folding phones to come pic.twitter.com/eadi5Ani6Y

— Sean Keach (@SeanKeach) January 8, 2019

That being said, all signs point to the foldability of the phone as top notch, so yay.

Ben Wood, from CCS Insight, puts it best.

The Royale FlexPai foldable smartphone / tablet. We are in the Stone Age of flexible display devices... #CES2019 #Foldable #FlexibleDisplay #BendyPhone pic.twitter.com/rI5SoB9Fkt

— Ben Wood (@benwood) January 8, 2019

"We are in the Stone Age of flexible display devices"

Look forward to the inevitable influx of folding phones soon.