The pathetic foldable cell phone. It's a way to turn a pocket-sized smartphone into a device that can be carried as easily as a tablet. With cell phone makers focusing on folding phones, it didn't seem long before we'd see a truly portable workstation that could get the job done on the go.

And now, after only a brief unveiling at CES 2021 this week, a rollable phone is here to knock the foldable phone off its lofty position.

The rollable in question is the straightforwardly named LG Rollable, and all we know about it is that the screen can be expanded or contracted depending on whether you want a large display or a portable device. We also know directly from LG that this phone will be available this year. What we do not know is everything else. How the rollable feature will work, what kind of camera it will have, and how much it will cost. (Our guess: quite high.)

Still, that won't stop LG Rollable from being one of the more talked-about announcements at this year's CES. We even gave LG Rollable the Tom's Guide CES 2021 award, and according to Avi Greengart, principal analyst at Techsponential, the buzz is certainly understandable.

"Rollable phones don't exist yet, so people are excited about the possibilities without thinking about the downsides that might happen," Greengart says.

Those downsides are certainly significant. But so is the potential for roller phones.

Tuong Nguyen, a senior principal analyst at Gartner, sees two attractive aspects of rollable screens: form factor and durability.

"The form factor is interesting because the smartphone industry has been focused on slates for over 13 years.

"Rollables not only offer the possibility of innovation in form factors, but also new potential configurations of applications.

But the allure of durability should not be overlooked: for Nguyen, rollable screens promise greater durability than flat screens, since not all of the screen is always exposed. Says Nguyen, "Anyone who has had to live with a cracked screen for months or years can appreciate this advantage."

But these aren't the only factors. Smartphone users also have the prospect of being able to use more screen real estate while keeping the overall size of the device compact enough to carry around.

Foldable phones were supposed to offer that, and devices like the Galaxy Z Fold 2 do to some extent. But there are some tradeoffs.

"Foldable displays have creases and are twice as thick as basic stick phones," Greengart said, noting that even reputable foldables like the Z Fold 2 and Galaxy Z Flip have visible lines. A screen that does not need to be bent, but rather rolled into place, would have no such lines.

Still, there are plenty of blanks left to fill if LG wants the positive buzz from the CES teaser to translate into a successful product launch. For example, the handset maker will have to explain more about its display and how many times it can be rolled and unfolded without wear and tear.

This last point is one that cannot be ignored. Early failures of foldable phones involved the hinge of the phone. For example, the original Galaxy Fold had a small gap that allowed dust and other particles to pass through and potentially damage the screen. Samsung corrected this problem, but only after delaying the release of its phones. Because rollable screens have moving parts, it is necessary to check with LG and other companies to see how they guarantee the device's operation.

Greengart is looking for answers regarding durability and screen size. But he also wants to know what LG had to trade off to produce such a flexible screen. In other words, are there trade-offs in brightness, HDR, color, and screen refresh rate that would have to be made on a traditional phone?

And then there is the issue of apps and whether apps need to be modified to work with the new form factor. In the case of foldable phones, app makers have had to tweak their software to take advantage of features such as multitasking and the Flex model that Samsung has introduced in its latest foldable devices.

This leads to the ultimate challenge facing the LG Rollable and other folding phones in development: convincing people that this particular design allows them to use their phones in new and valuable ways. It just so happens that foldable cell phones also still face the same challenge.

"Both form factors are being discovered," says Nguyen, "in the sense that the use cases are not yet defined. From a consumer perspective, this means "how will it improve my life?"

With the LG Rollable just around the corner, don't expect folding phones to gracefully exit the stage. Samsung is reportedly working on new versions of the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip this year, and according to Samsung Electronics President TM Roh, the company is eager to announce additional designs. [As for the LG Rollable, there are significant differences between the CES keynote's top candidate and the shipping product. Expect more details to be revealed about this rollable phone.