Tag: foldable smartphone

Xiaomi Patents A Smartphone That Transforms Into A Tablet

Earlier this year, a senior Xiaomi executive showcased a foldable smartphone that could transform into a large-screen tablet. Following the event, Samsung and Huawei launched their first foldable smartphones which are dubbed the Galaxy Fold and Mate X respectively. Unfortunately, due to quality issues, the launch of both these handsets have been pushed back to September.

While Xiaomi was also assumed to launch its foldable smartphone soon after the launch of Huawei and Samsung’s offering, clearly that has not happened. But the company has been granted patents of a foldable smartphone that suggest that the device could launch soon.

According to the patents, the front of the Xiaomi smartphone has a flexible display that can fold from either end. Noteworthy, the bezels around the display are negligible which provides the device with an overall elegant design.

The rear of the Xioami smartphone seems to be made out of metal with two rubber straps that conceal the foldable hinge. The rubber-like material is similar to what is found on the previously launched Royole Flexpai. In addition, it also houses a triple camera setup.

The images do not reveal any cutout or notch for the front-facing selfie camera on the Xiaomi smartphone. It is likely that the device will debut with an under-display selfie camera, which several companies (1,2) are working on.

Also, it does not have a rear-mounted or side-mounted biometric sensor, perhaps, it will have an in-display fingerprint sensor which is slowly becoming a common sighting on premium and mid-range smartphones.

In addition to functional design, the Xiaomi smartphone is expected to have high-end specifications. Therefore, it could feature the Snapdragon 855 or 855 Plus chipset. In terms of memory, it is expected to at least have 6 GB of RAM.

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In order to verify the claims and leaks, we will have to wait patiently until Xiaomi addresses the device publically. Besides, the foldable smartphone from Xiaomi is expected to be more affordable than Samsung and Huawei’s offering which cost about US $ 2000.

What are your thoughts on the foldable smartphone from Xiaomi? Let us know in the comments below.

August 16, 2019
Sony Is Working On A Foldable Phone With A Host Of New Sensors

After a decade of smartphones with a rigid form factor, the year 2019 saw the launch of two visionary devices, the Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X 5G. Although both the smartphones aim towards achieving the same goal i.e is packing a large screen display on a compact device, they have a completely different approach. The Galaxy Fold has dual displays, out of which one is present on the outside aka “cover display” and a larger foldable display which is concealed with a unique folding mechanism. On the other hand, the Mate X has an outer folding display which the company refers to as “falcon wing” design. Unfortunately, the commercial availability of both handsets has been pushed to a future date (1,2). However, by the time the two devices make a comeback, they might not be the only competitors in this segment, as Sony is also working on futuristic device claim patents (1).
Besides having a foldable display, the alleged Sony smartphone will have a few other nifty tricks up its sleeve. The patent discovered by a Netherland based website, Letsgodigital reveals that foldable Sony smartphones which are expected to launch in the near future will have an array of new generation sensors. Accordingly, the drawings in the document exhibit three different sensors in a foldable device which include a temperature sensor, pressure sensor and acceleration sensor. As the name suggests the pressure sensor will be able to sense the force applied on the display, this could something be similar to 3D touch seen on Apple iPhones which prompt different options based on the pressure applied to the display.

Furthermore, the temperature sensor will likely measure the temperature of the users from their finger. Though not many details about this type of sensor are available, this could very well be targetted towards the health and fitness domain. The accelerometer sensor is common sighting on most modern smartphones and it is mainly used to track the orientation of the device.

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The patents also divulge that the device from Sony will have just one display which will fold on the outside. The design is similar to that Huawei Mate X, that we, fortunately, got to have a close look at. The patents do not reveal any specifications about the Sony handset but it is expected to be laden with high end features.

To sum it up, Sony holds the technical prowess required to fabricate such a device. However, we will have to wait for some concrete details in order to verify the existence of the handset.

July 18, 2019
Google Goes Overboard With A Foldable Device That Resembles A Textbook

American multinational company, Google is at the forefront of technology, be it software or hardware. Following the commendable success it has had with Android in the software domain, the company now plans to dip its toes in futuristic hardware as well. At the 2019 Google I/O developers conference, the company announced that it is working on several foldable smartphones or rather foldable devices.

A freshly granted patent to the company goes in line with the previous announcement. Google has been granted a patent for a unique electronic device which surprisingly resembles a textbook. The device is somewhat similar to the Samsung Galaxy Fold but with a couple more displays or should we say pages.

Upon close inspection of the patent, it can be divulged that the multiple screens are held together with the main body by a sort of book spine. Speaking of the body, it may be the place where all the electronic components including chipset, motherboard and battery will be placed.

Although any concrete information about the claim cannot be derived. It is even possible that during its initial prototyping stages, the foldable device from Google may be devoid of any internal components. Instead, it could just be used a multi-fold display which is powered and provided transmission information via an external cord.

The fundamental aim behind any foldable device is to pack a large display in a body which is significantly smaller or compact than its actual dimensions. The foldable smartphone/device from Google may be conceptualised to run multiple apps simultaneously. In order to switch between applications, the user could scroll between different displays instead of swiping back and forth between apps.

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To sum it all, the concept or technology seems visionary and promising but such a device seems a bit farfetched when considering the development that has been achieved in the field of the foldable display.

However, when and if Google is able to successfully develop a device with these aspects and features, it would rather patent the technology and license it to other OEMs than retailing it own devices.

June 27, 2019
Huawei Patents Another Foldable Phone, Could Be Second Gen Mate X

In the month of February, the Chinese electronics giant, Huawei unveiled the revolutionary Mate X which is the company’s first foldable smartphone. Earlier this month, Huawei released a statement declaring that the commercial availability of the innovative device has been delayed to September which was previously set for June. A freshly granted patent to the Huawei suggests that the company might already be working on the Mate X successor that has an updated design.

Huawei filed the patent for the said device with WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) in July 2018 which was granted on the 18th of June, 2019. Unlike the original Mate X, the Huawei device in the patent has dual displays. Also, its main display folds inside which is disparate to its predecessor. Similar to the Samsung Galaxy Fold, it has a smaller cover screen which can be used as the primary display. On the other hand, when the user wants to consume content on a large screen, they can unfold the inner display.

The right side of the Huawei smartphone from the current patent houses a button that seems to be the power button. Notably, the button is quite narrow, therefore, unlike the original handset, it might not have a fingerprint scanner built into the power button. Instead, it might have an in-dispaly fingerprint scanner which is slowly becoming the global standard for premium smartphones. Also disparate to Mate X, the camera module on the device from the patent is placed on the front.

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As of now, it is unclear whether this is a successor to the Mate X or an entirely different smartphone. Subsequently, in order to get more details about the patent, we will have to wait until Huawei speaks out about the device publically.

June 20, 2019
Huawei Patents Smartphone With Double Folding Display

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei announced the Mate X back in the month of February. It was the first foldable smartphone from the company and featured an outward folding mechanism. A few days ago, it was revealed that the device’s launch date of June has been pushed back to September this year owing to the company perfecting the design of the handset. Now, patents of another Huawei foldable smartphone have surfaced online. The images in the patent application reveal the device will have a double folding display.

About the patent

The Huawei patent mentioned above was registered last year by the European Patent Office in the Netherlands. A patent entitled “foldable mobile device” was then granted by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) on 31st May. Images in the patent reveal a familiar design to the Huawei Mate X. The smartphone has an outward folding display, however, the display can be folded two times as opposed to one on the Mate X. This design is oddly familiar to the Xiaomi foldable smartphone, which was showcased in a video a while ago.

The images reveal three different models Huawei may be planning for the future. In the first variant, a widescreen border is present on the top and bottom of the smartphone. The bezel contains the camera sensors and a home button. The second variant contains a single bezel on the top, which houses the front-facing camera and other necessary sensors. On the other hand, the third model consists of just the display which extends on all sides of the device. Renders based on the third model have been showcased in the report.

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The images in the Huawei patent reveal a single USB Type C port present on the smartphone, and there are no camera sensors in sight. It is possible that Huawei may incorporate an under display selfie camera as Xiaomi and Oppo showcased a few days ago. While the pricing of the handset is not known, because of all the modern technology and components inside the device; it may cost a premium when launched later this year or early next year.

You can check out the patent listing here

June 17, 2019
Oppo Patents Foldable Smartphone With Telescopic Camera

Amidst the ongoing trend of foldable smartphones, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo is reportedly working on a smartphone which folds outwards. The company previously showcased a prototype of such a device in the month of February. It resembled the Huawei Mate X in terms of the design factor, considering that both the devices sport a sidebar when they are folded outwards. However, since the company president wanted to get rid of the sidebar, the images present in the patent are aimed towards a bezel-less future.

About The Patent: Design And Features

The patent for the foldable Oppo smartphone was originally filed in the year 2018. Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications filed a design patent with the Global Design Database of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office). Almost a year later on 7 June 2019, the patent was published and includes a total of 42 colour renders alongside 51 sketches pertaining to the foldable device.

The description present in the patent states that the camera setup present in the Oppo device is a telescopic camera. This may not directly mean that the smartphone has a telescopic zoom-enabled camera, but rather it refers to a telescopic mechanism employed in the pop-up camera setup alongside the telescopic camera itself. Since the device is foldable, it spreads out in a tablet like form factor. Upon folding the device, the display is on the outside, and the user can make use of the pop-up camera to capture images even when the device is folded. The dual-camera module is convex in shape and boasts of modern yet elegant design.

Right next to the pop-up camera, the device has space for a power button. The earpiece can be spotted below the camera module. It is expected to sport multiple microphones, with one microphone clearly visible on the top right section of the Oppo device. Another microphone can be seen at the bottom of the handset. In addition to a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack is also present at the bottom.

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Companies are gearing up to launch their own variants of foldable smartphones in the market, but after the Galaxy Fold suffered a setback in the hands of reviewers, organizations are wary. Nonetheless, Oppo’s efforts in the segment may prove to be quite worthwhile if it can unveil its own foldable device in the near future. Competitors in the future may include Motorola and Huawei.

June 10, 2019
Xiaomi Delays The Release Of Its Foldable Smartphone Over Market Insecurity

Foldable smartphones are expected to be the technology trend for the year 2019. Samsung and Huawei have both showcased their first devices capable of folding into half. These handsets are the Galaxy Fold and the Mate X respectively. While the former was deemed ready for sales a few weeks ago, incidents questioning the smartphone’s durability surfaced online. This led to Samsung recalling the units in a bid to fix the issues plaguing them. While the market waits patiently for the Galaxy Fold to show up again, the major blow of the incidents seems to have been suffered by Xiaomi.

The Chinese smartphone OEM showed off its foldable smartphone in a series of teasers and videos over the past few months. It was also reported the device could make its way into the market in a few months at half the price of the Galaxy Fold and the Mate X. However, due to the increasing market insecurities over Foldable Smartphones, Xiaomi seems to have pushed back the release of its foldable handset.

Investors in the Xiaomi supply chain, had revealed that while the launch of the device was earlier planned in the month of June, our original source claims it has been postponed for later in the summer. This will allow Xiaomi to further test their foldable device.

Due to the unfortunate incidents with the durability of the Samsung Galaxy Fold, and the following negative sentiments regarding foldable smartphones; Xiaomi is delaying the release, and further testing their product, and also making sure that the insecurity over the Galaxy fold failure will not impact the sales of their foldable device. Our source claims that the company may wait till another manufacturer releases a foldable device, before they unveil the phone in its entirety.

The company was claimed to have sourced foldable displays from the display maker Visionox. A patent for a foldable Xiaomi device was also discovered around the same time. The rumoured handset by the company is also expected to feature the Snapdragon 855 SoC, up to 8GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage.

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The major attraction with the foldable Xiaomi smartphone is claimed to be its price. Our source told us that the device could retail at half the price of the already announced handsets from Samsung and Huawei, retailing in at about US$ 999 and arriving in India at a lucrative price tag of Rs 74,999.
The handset is now expected later in the Summer, possibly after Samsung re launches the Galaxy Fold, and while Huawei Mate X is also expected in the month of July.

May 31, 2019
Apple Foldable Phone Patent Revealed

In the ongoing race of foldable smartphones, American tech giant Apple is looking to introduce its own contender. An Apple foldable device has been in the rumours for quite some time, and as per the latest reports, it may not be far from turning into a reality. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has published a total of 85 patents for the company, two of which include a foldable iDevice and a smart keyboard which resembles the iPad’s Folio keyboard.

Patent For Foldable iDevice

The application titled “Apple invents both Single and Multi-Fold Device Form Factors for Future iDevices” was filed by the company in the month of August 2018. The patent covers electronic devices that feature a bendable region. Such a device will sport a display layer and a cover layer that can fold around the aforementioned bendable region. The patent indicates that the flexible cover layer may be made out of ceramic so as to increase the detail of protection against falls and scratches. Additionally, the flexible cover may also provide structural integrity to the foldable device.

The patent exhibits the ability of the foldable device to transform into a tablet, which would enable the user to make use of the entire display surface. The device can be folded two times, which implies that almost one third of the total display surface will be visible when the device is in its folded state.

Patent For Smart Keyboard Design

The second patent covers a device that is quite similar to the Apple Folio smart keyboard, which was released alongside the iPad Pro 12.9 in the year 2016. The patent includes images of a variety of designs for a new smart keyboard that may be announced in the future. One of the images showcases a keyboard design with a space above the keyboard which can be used to input data via the Apple Pencil. Another design features the inclusion of a trackpad to the keyboard.

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It is unsure whether the company will unveil any new products based on the preceding form factors anytime soon. Previously, concept renders had surfaced, which showed off the design of a probable foldable iPhone. Considering the ongoing trend of foldable smartphones (such as the Samsung Galaxy Fold), Apple is expected to announce its own version of the foldable smartphone at its launch event in September 2019, where the company will launch its next generation iPhones.

May 30, 2019
Intel Working On A Smartphone With A 360 Degree Camera

American technology giant Intel is known for its desktop processors and computer components. Now, fresh leaks suggest the company may be working on a unique smartphone which it may introduce soon. According to reports, Intel applied for two patents in the year 2016 for a smartphone design with a 360 Degree Camera system. This was later published on the official website of the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) on the 14th of May.

Intel Smartphone With 360 Degree Camera

The patents reveal two smartphone designs, with both of them showing a near bezel-less smartphone; with some minor differences in design. The first one has a full screen without any borders. A flexible display seems to be on use in the device on the front and back which extends all the way to its sides. The standout feature of the image is the placement of the cameras. The displays on both sides have an off centre placed camera which is a lot like the one found in the Galaxy S10 series of smartphones. The significance of the number 360 written on the back is expected to be related to the capabilities of the setup. Reports claim the handset will utilise both cameras to capture images and video in 360 degrees.

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More images from Intel’s patent reveal a similarly designed smartphone with components placed differently. In one image, a device with a single rear camera in the centre and two cameras, placed on the left and right respectively is visible. The handset in question here may also utilise the 360-degree camera technology as the one showcased earlier, as it also has a similar text on the back. The patents imply the company is working on a smartphone with a similar design. Unfortunately, it is not known when it will be launched or if Intel will end up selling this. This could also simply be a concept design, and proof of concept from Intel.

May 18, 2019
Nubia Patent Suggests A Flexible Smartphone Screen With Dual Notch

Nubia last created waves when the company unveiled its wearable smartphone, which has a bendable display. Known as the Nubia Alpha, it has a 4-inch flexible display and can be worn on the wrist similar to a smartwatch. The company has also launched some distinctively powerful gaming smartphones in the past, including the Nubia Red Magic. A recently published patent reveals that the Chinese technology company is also working on a flexible smartphone, which will supposedly have a dual-notch design.

About The Patent

Previously, a smartphone with a bottom notch was patented by Xiaomi. The device had both the front cameras housed in the bottom notch and had a high screen-to-body ratio. However, the design patent granted to Nubia is a bit different. The overall patent consists of two different designs. Both the designs were filed in the month of March 2018 and were published by the Global Design Database of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) on April 12, 2019.

Nubia Flexible Smartphone Design

The design patent contains a total of 16 images, which are quite similar to each other. All of them show different variants of the Nubia flexible smartphone display. The screen depicted in the patent has an elongated design, which may lead to a taller smartphone. Eight of the 16 variants have 2 notch designs: one on the top and the other on the bottom of the display. The first four of the dual-notch designs exhibit a centrally placed notch on both the ends, whereas the other four models have a notch which are placed away from the central axis of the smartphone, albeit symmetrically. The notch designs that are depicted in the pictures have a variety of shapes, including a U-shaped notch, a V-shaped notch, a semicircular notch and a fourth trapezium-shaped notch.

The other eight models also depict a foldable screen, but with a significantly different notch design. Six of the eight designs have a dual-notch design, with both the notch designs placed next to each other. The designs use a combination of the previously mentioned notch shapes to maximize the screen-to-body ratio. Out of the sixteen models, only two have a single notch which can house a single front camera.

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Since the ZTE subsidiary has been working on flexible screens for a long time now, a Nubia flexible smartphone featuring the dual notch design might make its way into the market in the not-so-distant future. Moreover, the futuristic design may push Nubia towards the big leagues, where it can compete with the likes of other foldable smartphone brands such as Samsung and Huawei.

April 15, 2019
Samsung Galaxy Fold PreSale Goes Live In The US

When Samsung first announced the Galaxy Fold at the Galaxy Unpacked event on February 20, 2019, it astounded people from around the globe. Although the device was launched next to the Samsung Galaxy S10 lineup, it got its fair share of the spotlight at the event. Even though the smartphone had a high price tag, consumers and fans were very excited to get their hands on the first foldable smartphone from the company. As per latest news, Samsung is beginning the Pre-Sale for the same in the United States.

The registrations for the first Pre-Sale of the smartphone began on April 12 2019, and as per Samsung’s official registration site, the reservations are already full. All the users in the US who have completed the registration process will receive the instructions via email to order the Galaxy Fold by using the private preorder process which begins on April 15 2019. Furthermore, select Samsung stores are expected to have the devices in stock by April 26, which is also the official launch date of the device. Interested customers had enough time to pre-order the device, even though the people who reserved it in the first place were not necessarily obliged to pre-order the same.

Galaxy Fold Features And Specifications

The Samsung Galaxy Fold features an attractive interlocked-gear design, which enables it to fold around the hinge. The larger 7.3-inch display used in the smartphone is referred to as an “Infinity Flex” display by Samsung, and it has a resolution of 2152 x 1536 px. On the other hand, the smaller secondary 4.6-inch display features a HD+ resolution.

The Galaxy Fold runs on the 7nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, which comprises of the octa-core Kryo 485 CPU and the Adreno 640 GPU. The device packs 12GB of RAM and 512GB ROM. Another interesting feature of the Galaxy Fold is the presence of two separate battery packs with a combined capacity of 4,380 mAh. Furthermore, the device supports wireless charging.

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The non-5G variant of the Samsung Galaxy Fold is priced at US$ 1,980, which roughly translates to INR 1,37,100. Samsung will also include a 5G model of the Galaxy Fold in the lineup, which will obviously be priced at a higher point. The device is available in four colours: Cosmo Black, Space Silver, Astro Blue, and Martian Green. The Galaxy Fold will go up against the likes of the Huawei Mate X and Motorola foldable smartphone, which are expected to make an appearance soon.

April 15, 2019
Motorola Razr Foldable Phone Launch Imminent Suggests Bluetooth SIG Listing
Motorola is soon expected to launch the modern avatar of its flip phone, the Moto Razr from the year 2004. There have been rumblings about a contemporary foldable Moto Razr for quite some time – some of it directly from the company. The upcoming smartphone was previously speculated to launch in the month of February, which apparently did not happen. However, a fresh listing of the Moto Razr on the Bluetooth SIG website suggests that its launch is imminent.

Bluetooth SIG And Its Significance

Bluetooth SIG, short for Bluetooth Special Interest Group is the standards organisation that supervises the development of Bluetooth standards and the licensing of the Bluetooth technologies to manufacturers. It is mandatory for smartphone OEMs to get its devices certified with the organisation before they are launched. Consequently, the fresh listing of the Moto Razr suggests that its launch is imminent. In accordance with past claims, the listing also reveals, the upcoming smartphone will initially be offered via the Verizon telecom provider from the US.

Motorola Razr Features and Price

Although the Bluetooth SIG does not reveal any specifications of the Moto Razr, they were leaked in the past. The upcoming smartphone will reportedly feature a 6.2 inch OLED inner display that has a pixel density of 2142 x 876 px. It will also have a smaller cover display that has a pixel density of 800 x 600 px. The smartphone will be kitted with the Snapdragon 710 SoC which consists of an Octa-Core CPU and Adreno 616 GPU.

The upcoming foldable Moto Razr will reportedly be powered by a 2730 mAh battery which will support fast charging. In terms of memory and storage, it will be available in two storage options which are as follows:
- 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM
- 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM
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The official price of the handset will only be publicised at the time of its official launch. However, past reports claim that it will be priced at US$ 1200 (Rs. 83,544). Making it significantly more affordable in comparison to other foldable smartphones including the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X.
April 15, 2019
Sharp Showcases A Unique Clamshell Style Foldable Smartphone

The biggest and the most prevalent trend for this year is expected to be the advent of foldable smartphones. Smartphone OEMs like Samsung and Huawei have already showcased their devices with the technology. Japanese multinational giant Sharp has also joined the bandwagon and revealed a clamshell style foldable smartphone in a video. This is the first time the technology has been exhibited.

Sharp Clamshell Foldable Smartphone

The clamshell foldable smartphone from Sharp that has been showcased in the video features a similar design to the expected Motorola RAZR foldable smartphone leaked a few days ago. It has a Plastic OLED display which can be folded completely into half to turn the device into a more compact form factor. It has a wide notch on top of the display which is surprising to see in a foldable smartphone. Its mechanism uses strong magnets to keep the display securely shut when in the folded state. To reaffirm the durability claims, Sharp has assured it has tested the folding mechanism for up to 3,00,000 bends. Notably, this number is significantly higher than the durability claims of Samsung Galaxy Fold.

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Unfortunately, Sharp hasn’t provided any specific launch date for a commercial smartphone featuring a clamshell, foldable design. According to the company, it may take years before a device featuring the technology may be released by it. However, Sharp is also a display manufacturer, so there may be a possibility that it may sell this technology to other OEMs to implement in separate devices. The video also doesn’t clarify if the display when folded time and again, will create a crease in the centre or not. Furthermore, the sound of the folding mechanism is also prevalent throughout the video, which may make the experience of using the smartphone cumbersome.

April 11, 2019
LG Patents Smartphone With A Foldable Transparent Display

In answer to “Is there any more innovation left for future devices?”, smartphone brands are patenting technologies that were never-heard-of-before. For instance, Lenovo previously patented a clamshell foldable design with a narrow display, and Xiaomi was granted a patent for a smartphone with a bottom notch. South-Korean multinational technology company, LG has been granted a patent for a smartphone with a foldable transparent display.

The company has been experimenting with the transparent screen design for quite some time now, which was last spotted at CES 2019 (Consumers Electronics Show) when LG showcased a transparent OLED television. Its display had a transparency of 40%. Previously, on SID (Society for Information Display), LG unveiled a flexible and transparent 4K UHD OLED display with a screen size of 77 inches. It may be possible that the company incorporates a similar technology in its future smartphone designs.

About The Patent

On April 9, 2019, a patent was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Originally filed by LG Electronics more than three years ago, the patent clearly depicts a smartphone with a flexible transparent display. A lot of details are included in the patent, such as the UI (User Interface), operation and the materials required to make the display. This may very well be the first foldable transparent smartphone of its kind.

Design And Features

As per the patent, the smartphone is entirely made of the flexible display, which is incorporated both on the inside and outside the foldable smartphone. The handset can be unfolded to almost double its size, which then enables the user to operate it in the tablet mode. While unfolded, both the left and the right parts can independently turn opaque or transparent, indicating that separate modules will be used for the two adjacent sides of the device. As per the patent, the transparency of the smartphone changes with the way it is held, which is quite interesting.

If the smartphone is lying flat on a surface, the display will exhibit a very low degree of transparency. However, when the smartphone is picked up and folded, the transparency will be clearly visible. Upon increasing the transparency beyond 20%, the rear touch sensor of the device is enabled, with the help of which users can operate the flexible transparent display from the rear. This feature seeks to maximize functionality in such a smartphone.

Expected Availability

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The device will feature a multi-lens camera system, with a multi-camera rear module and a single front camera. A piece of technology like this can still take a lot of time before being commercialized and incorporated in a smartphone. However, considering that foldable smartphones were not even a viable idea some years before, we could see LG releasing their very own flexible transparent smartphone over the course of the next few years. And of course, it will be nothing like any other smartphone released till now.

The detailed patent can be viewed by clicking here.

April 10, 2019
Lenovo Registers Patent For Foldable Smartphone With Clamshell Design

The race of unveiling the best foldable smartphone is undoubtedly a cutthroat one, with companies like Samsung and Huawei leading the pack. Xiaomi is expected to follow up with its own variant of the same. The multinational technology company Lenovo has also showcased various prototypes of foldable smartphones previously. On April 2, 2019, Lenovo was granted a patent for an innovative foldable smartphone with a clamshell design.

About The Patent

The design patent was applied for in the month of September 2018 in the Global Design Database of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office). The patent contained a total of 11 images. As per the images, Lenovo has opted for a flexible hinge design, which when unfolded, unveils an elongated display. Images suggest that the device’s display will be just wide enough for convenient one-handed usage. Narrow bezels will give the device a contemporary look. The upper screen border of the foldable smartphone houses an earpiece receiver, whereas the bezel above the display accommodates the front camera.

Interestingly, the Lenovo foldable smartphone has a second screen that is present at the back of the device and is visible only when the device is folded shut. Noteworthy, images suggest that the fold hinge/line doesn’t lie in the middle of the smartphone, instead the lower part of the device is shorter as compared to the upper part. Once the user bends the lower part, a smaller screen will be visible.

Lastly, the rear of the device houses a single camera. The clamshell design of the Lenovo foldable smartphone hints towards the fact that the device can be folded at more than one point, thereby facilitating mobility in the smartphone. However, it appears that when the device is folded, a tiny crack will still be visible which will indicate where the hinge is.

Expected Availability

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The Chinese manufacturer is expected to release the foldable smartphone in the later part of the year 2019. Furthermore, Motorola, subsidiary of Lenovo is also speculated to unveil its foldable smartphone in the month of June or July this year. Both the devices are expected to be priced under US$ 1500.

The original patents for Lenovo’s foldable smartphone can be viewed here.

April 2, 2019