Xiaomi has been granted a patent for another foldable phone with a folding design similar to that of the Motorola Razr 2019. This is the second patent Xiaomi has received for such a design in the span of a month. The first patent was granted in November while this was granted on December 6, 2019, following filing back in mid-2018.
The new patent shows a device that folds vertically but there are some major differences when compared to the first patent. Unlike the first patent that has a bezel at the top of the display for the selfie camera and sensors, the diagrams for the new patent show the phone will have no bezels. This should translate into a higher screen-to-body ratio. But that’s not all.
The diagram shows the phone has a pop-up selfie camera. The camera is flanked by a sensor and an LED flash. So when the user needs to take a photo or record a video, the motorized selfie camera pops up.
On the back of the phone are dual cameras and an LED flash but these are unique. The sensors and flash are actually housed inside a smaller display whose function is to display notifications when the phone is folded. So, yes, we have three punch holes inside this much smaller secondary display.
Xiaomi has been accumulating patents for foldable phones but it is yet to launch one yet. It did show us a working prototype of a phone with a flexible screen that can be folded twice earlier this year but there has been no news of a launch.
Samsung and Huawei should launch successors to their foldable devices next year. Samsung has even shared a teaser video of the upcoming phone, and it too has a vertically folding design like the Motorola Razr.
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