China-based TCL has showcased a design for a new foldable smartphone. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and Huawei’s Mate X foldable phones are designed with single hinge to fold in half. However, the foldable phone prototype from TCL has two hinges. The first hinge of the device folds in while the other one folds out to provide users with a tablet-like 10-inch display area.
The two hinges of the TCL prototype fold in opposite direction. Hence, it is dubbed as a tri-folding device. It is different foldable phone from the prototype with DragonHinge system that TCL had showcased at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 tech trade show in February. It could only fold in direction like a book.
The TCL tri-folding device has a DragonHinge system that allows to fold like the Galaxy Fold (fold like a book). The device also features a Butterfly Hinge for folding in opposite direction. While opening or closing, the two hinges lets the phone fold in a zigzag manner.
When completely folded, it appears like a regular but incredible thick smartphone. When unfurled, it provides a massive screen space of 10 inches. The tri-folding prototype has a horizontal quad camera setup on its rear.
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The prototype does not have a working display yet which indicates that the company is still working on the concept. It does show that the Chinese firm is exploring different types of form factor for foldable devices. At the MWC 2019 event, TCL had showcased as many as five foldable devices.
Since the triple foldable phone is not a working device yet, nothing is known on the specs of the device. Speaking of the design, the triple foldable phone from TCL appears like fragile like currently available foldable smartphones. Think about it, folding the hinges in wrong direction on the TCL device can cause serious harm to its display.
Star Optoelectronics Technology is the sister company of TCL. It is one of the world’s major manufacturers of OLED panel. Probably, the tri-folding foldable phone from TCL could be equipped with flexible OLED panels form its sister firm. TCL will be launching its first foldable phone in 2020. It is now experimenting on different form factors for its foldable phone and it could be also waiting for the market’s reaction towards the Galaxy Fold, Mate X and the upcoming Motorola RAZR foldable phone that will be go official on Nov. 13.
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