We heard it dozens of times: 5G and foldable smartphones have been the main revolutions of 2019 in the mobile sector. A lot of smartphone manufacturers came up with their own form factors experimenting foldable display: this year we saw a lot of crazy foldable designs that will or may hit the shelves in the next future. In this article, we collected all the craziest foldable designs we have seen so far. The article only includes smartphones with flexible displays, so do not be surprised after not finding devices such as the upcoming Microsoft Surface Duo or the Surface Neo which are just devices with dual displays.
Outward folding by Huawei
Among the foldable smartphones in commerce, the most appreciated was the Mate X by Huawei. It has an outward folding design that allows using both the displays generated when the display is closed. The secondary display also allows you to use the quad rear camera for selfies as well, that is one of the main reasons why I appreciate it so much. While unfolded, the foldable smartphone has a diagonal of 8 inches, while the primary display you can see when the smartphone is folded has a 6.6-inch diagonal. The phone has a unique AMOLED panel with a Full HD+ resolution and it is powered by a Kirin 980 chipset paired with 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage. In 2020 Huawei will release an upgraded version called Mate Xs which will boast a more advanced Kirin 990 chipset that is the same found on the Mate 30 series.
Learn more about Huawei’s foldable design by clicking here.
Inward folding by Samsung
The Galaxy Fold by Samsung is the world’s first foldable smartphone released by a mainstream manufacturer. It has a completely different design compared to the Huawei Mate X. The Samsung Galaxy Fold comes with an inward folding design, meaning that the foldable display is placed internally. While the smartphone is folded, the flexible display is totally covered, but the phone features a smaller external display with 4.6-inch size. While unfolded, the smartphone has a 7.3-inch diagonal. It even sports two camera departments: a triple camera on the rear side with a variable focal aperture and a triple camera near the foldable display.
Learn more about Samsung’s foldable design by clicking here.
Dual folding by Xiaomi
Xiaomi is working on a foldable smartphone with a double fold design. The company recently showcased it in an official promo video in which you can clearly see a device that can be folded twice with the phone’s display on the outside. According to the company, the MIUI has been adjusted accordingly with gesture controls and other features, and the phone is able to become either a tablet or a traditional smartphone in a very practical way. The phone folds from the two sides of the main smartphone’s screen and it closes in the middle of the rear side of the device. In the video, we can clearly notice a camera icon on the screen, but we can not see any camera on the phone. Instead, there is a power key and a USB Type-C port to charge the battery.
Learn more about Xiaomi’s foldable design by clicking here.
Tri-folding by TCL
TCL showcased a lot of foldable smartphone prototypes this year. But the last one which surprised us is the foldable phone we wrote about yesterday. It sports a tri-folding display with two hinges: the first one folds in while the second one folds out, so it is able to fold in a zig zag manner in order to take less space. When unfolded, the TCL prototype has a total diagonal of 10 inches making it a real tablet-sized device. The phone even sports a quad camera setup on the rear side. Unfortunately, when it is folded, the device is very thick, but it is compact. We still do not know when this device will be announced.
Learn more about TCL’s foldable design by clicking here.
Foldable flip phone by Motorola
Motorola is expected to announce its first foldable smartphone on November 13, at least from what an official teaser video suggests. It will be a revival of the iconic RAZR line-up which made the fortune of the company in the feature phones age. And, just like the original RAZR series, the new foldable smartphone will have a clamshell form factor. But there will obviously be a difference: the display will be foldable just like the phone. Given that it will be a flip phone, probably you already imagined that it will fold vertically. According to rumors, the Motorola RAZR smartphone will sport a 6.2-inch flexible OLED display with a resolution of 876 x 2142 pixels. The phone will also come with an external display which will allow users to check notifications without unfolding the phone. The foldable display should be notched in order to include a front camera for selfies. Despite its foldable design, the Motorola RAZR is not expected to be a flagship: instead, it should be a mid-ranger equipped with a Snapdragon 710 chipset paired with 4 or 6 GB of RAM and 64 or 128 GB of internal storage depending on the chosen configuration.
Learn more about Motorola’s foldable design by clicking here.
Foldable laptop by Lenovo
Instead of a smartphone, Lenovo is developing a foldable PC. It is a laptop that folds inwards with a huge 13.3-inch display and, obviously, Microsoft Windows as the operating system. The prototype belongs to the ThinkPad X1 series and Lenovo should launch it in the market in 2020 when it will be completely ready and safe.
Learn more about Lenovo’s foldable design by clicking here.
World’s first foldable phone by Royole
Last but not least, the world’s first foldable phone. A lot of people expected Samsung to release the first foldable device, but Royole beat the Korean giant and announced the FlexPai before the Korean giant. Just like the Huawei Mate X, the Royole FlexPai is another device with a flexible display placed externally which folds outwards. It is available in the global market and it is powered by the Snapdragon 855 chipset. Its display has a 7.8-inch diagonal when unfolded.
Learn more about Royole’s foldable design by clicking here.
