Coolpad's Cool X Wide gives you a much wider screen for about $150, with no folding display, but it only works on 4G networks and ships first in China.
A Chinese phone maker has built a cheap phone that borrows the wide-screen look of pricey foldables. The Coolpad Cool X Wide costs 999 yuan, about $150, and does not fold. It is available for preorder in China now, and shipping is expected to start November 8.
Wide-screen folding phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, the Huawei Pura X View and the new iPhone Duo are starting to influence regular, flat phones. The Cool X Wide is an example. Its screen is closer in size to a tiny tablet. That is similar to what the iPhone Duo and Galaxy Z Fold 8 show when closed. This phone skips the big price, costly repairs and screen creases.
The numbers show how different it is. The phone is nearly as tall as the iPhone 18 Pro. But Apple's phone is 2.83 inches wide, and the Coolpad is 3.72 inches wide.
The base model is about $150. Moving to 256GB of storage raises the price to around $180. Choosing 12GB of memory instead brings it to around $209. The phone comes in black, red or white. Preorders run through JD.com, a large Chinese online store.
This is a budget Android phone through and through. The processor limits it to 4G networks, as Android Authority pointed out. It cannot connect to 5G. For some buyers, that is a fair trade for the low price. For others, it may rule the phone out.
The material only describes a launch in China. It does not say whether the phone will be sold in the US or elsewhere, or what it would cost there. It also does not include hands-on testing, so how the wide screen feels in daily use is still unanswered. For now, the main point is that this wide-screen look no longer requires a foldable price.
A wide screen no longer needs a foldable price, but the $150 Cool X Wide is 4G only and for now is sold in China.
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