There is no doubt that foldable phones are the future of smartphones and we could start seeing commercial units dropping as early as the first half of this year. So, it is no surprise when we see that a good number of OEMs are working on their own model. Samsung, LG, OPPO, Huawei, Xiaomi, Royole and several others are reportedly working on their own foldable phone. What we didn’t expect to see was that tech giant Intel will be thinking about foldable phones. Surprisingly, Intel had filed a foldable design patent application in 2017.
The patent has now been awarded by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) as reported by Lets Go Digital. The application is titled Electronic Device With Foldable Display Panels. From the sketches, we can see that the Intel foldable phone is a device that opens up with hinges around a centre display. The main display at the centre is flanked on the right and left sides by screens that are the same size, turning the unit into a tablet when it is fully opened.
The design bears semblance with Microsoft’s Andromeda device that has been put on hold in some aspects. One is that the middle panel can be turned into a virtual QWERTY keyboard while it rests on one of the outer panels. The other outer panel then acts as the display screen in form of a laptop. The sketch also hints the device will have a stylus pen fitting into an opening at the bottom of the device in its closed position.
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The patent doesn’t in any way mean that Intel is planning to release a foldable phone anytime soon. The patent could aid the chipmaker curry some chip orders from other firms looking to produce a foldable mobile device. Meanwhile, you should check out the graphical renders of the device produced by Lets Go Digital from the sketches.
