Samsung is the leading foldable smartphone brand. The company will continue to enjoy this status for the time being. To keep up with the competition, the firm needs to innovate. Hence, like any other company, it is also known for patenting various phone designs and technology every now and then. One such patent has now emerged showcasing both foldable and rollable form factors in a single device.

1 of 2

According to 91Mobiles, Samsung filed a unique smartphone design patent with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organisation) in June 2021. This design incorporates a foldable as well as a rollable in one phone.

As mentioned earlier, Samsung is well-known for its foldables, however, the company is yet to release any rollable. In fact, there’s not a single commercial rollable smartphone from any brand.

However, like others, Samsung has also been filing design patents for this new form factor. But this is the first time any company has ever clubbed both foldable and rollable into one.

1 of 2

Per the patent description, the design is of an ‘electronic device capable of folding and sliding operations’. Users can slide the display of this handset based on requirement and can fold it at an inclined angle. The screen can be folded even when it is not rolled out.

Unfortunately, not much is known about this design patent except that it uses a hinge and a motor to fold and roll respectively.

As of now, we don’t think Samsung will ever launch a commercial product with this design anytime soon. But we cannot rule out the possibility in the future.

RELATED:

• Samsung patents an earbuds design that allows for underwater use for extended periods
• Samsung smartwatch with a rollable display might be in the works, suggests patent
• Samsung patents a Smartphone design with Dual Slider Mechanism
• Samsung patent reveals how the Galaxy Z Roll might look like

The post This Samsung phone can both fold and roll: Design Patent appeared first on Gizmochina.

Before punch-hole displays became mainstream in the smartphone industry, we had phones with pop-up cameras, in addition to devices with various types of notches. However, Samsung did not release a single pop-up camera handset but did launch a rotating camera mobile called Galaxy A80. But now, the company has patented a unique pop-up camera module for smartphones.

1 of 2

According to LetsGoDigital, Samsung Electronics filed a patent titled ‘Electronic device including camera module’ with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) in mid-2020. This patent got approved and published on January 14.

This design patent demonstrates a rotatable pop-up camera module. According to the documentation, the module may house at least three cameras. In the normal state, all these sensors will face backward.

EDITOR’S PICK: Samsung confirms it’s got rollable and slidable displays in the works

But in the selfie mode and video calls, this cylindrical module will rotate to face the front and will slightly pop-up out of the phone’s body to expose a single sensor at the top. The documentation also mentions an option to disclose the second sensor as well by rising the module even further.

This system uses a motor, two gears, and a long propeller shaft. It also includes a movable frame that shifts to the void place when the camera module rises. This frame house a flexible printed circuit board.

1 of 5

Having said that, we don’t expect Samsung to release a commercial smartphone with this solution. Because it sounds more fragile than the regular pop-up camera system. That said, the above renders are created by Jermaine Smit (Concept Creator) for LetsGoDigital.

RELATED:

• Samsung patents a Smartphone design with Dual Slider Mechanism
• Samsung patents an under display camera solution
• Samsung patents a clamshell foldable phone design with zero-gap hinge & larger cover display

The post Samsung patents a smartphone design with rotatable pop-up camera module appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi’s Mi MIX series is known for its bezel-less design. Unfortunately, the company has not released a new model in a very long time. However, it has patented a wide variety of devices with full-screen design in the past few months. Now, yet another new design emerges with a unique slider display implementation.

As usual, this Xiaomi patent was first spotted by LetsGoDigtial. As per the publication, Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software filed this patent with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) and the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). It got approved and published on October 29, 2020.

According to the documentation, this design includes a slider display similar to the Mi MIX 3 5G. But unlike that phone, this handset’s display covers the front and runs along the bottom side up until half of its back.

EDITOR’S PICK: Xiaomi patents a smartphone design with surround display and pop-up cameras

Hence, the only places without a screen on this design are the top, sides, and the top portion of the rear panel. This design is somewhat similar to the Xiaomi AI Super Camera smartphone patent from last year but with a magnetic slider.

Since this design’s display continues from the front to the back from the bottom side, it uses a roller mechanism inside the slider to slide down the front panel to reveal the selfie camera, an ambient light sensor, a distance sensor, a dot projector, and the receiver. This slider can also be moved by voice command.

In other words, this new Xiaomi patent is a combination of slider, rollable, and full-screen smartphone. That said, we don’t think the Chinese smartphone maker will ever release such a device for the commercial market but it may showcase it as a concept like the Mi MIX Alpha.

1 of 4

Lastly, the renders included in this article are created by an industrial designer called Sarang Sheth, in collaboration with LetsGoDigtial. Also, it is worth noting that the rear camera setup from the Mi 10T Pro is just for reference.

RELATED:

• Xiaomi patents a pop-up camera module with reflective mirror
• Xiaomi patents 7 foldable smartphone designs
• Xiaomi patents a rollable smartphone design with a secondary display

The post Xiaomi’s new phone patent is a combination of slider, rollable, and full-screen designs appeared first on Gizmochina.

Lately, OPPO has been filing patents for a wide variety of smartphone designs. It even showcased the world’s first rollable concept smartphone last month in the form of OPPO X 2021. Now, a new design patent by the company imagines a smartphone with a detachable camera module.

This patent was filed by Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). We are not sure who found it first but 91Mobiles did not mention the filing and publication times of this patent.

Talking about the design, the phone used in the sketches seem to be generic with no notch or punch-hole on the front. Perhaps, it may have an under-display camera. But then again, there are no physical buttons or ports as well. Hence, we believe that it is indeed for illustration only.

EDITOR’S PICK: OPPO patents Unique Foldable Smartphone designs with a weird Block structure

Anyway, the main aspect of this patent is the detachable camera module located at the back. This module houses a dual-camera setup along with an LED flash and it connects with the phone via USB Type-C.

The connector port on this module can be adjusted up to 90° and therefore, the rear camera setup can also be used for selfies and video calls. In other words, it is similar to ASUS Zenfone 6 and Zenfone 7/7Pro but the camera module can be detached as well as replaced with a different supported module with another set of cameras.

1 of 6

Having said that, we don’t expect OPPO to release a commercial smartphone with this design. Because many others have tried modularity on mobile phones and have failed terribly.

UP NEXT: OPPO patents a smartphone design with circular pop-up camera module and 15x hybrid zoom

The post OPPO patents a smartphone design with detachable camera module appeared first on Gizmochina.

Chinese tech company realme currently holds the title of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone brand. The brand hit 50 million shipments a little over two years from its establishment. The company is successful because of its affordable value for money devices and a robust supply chain, thanks to its former parent and present sister brand OPPO. 

However, the design of realme smartphones has always been identical. Most of them feature the same vertically aligned camera placement on the top left side of the back panel. They only differ by color gradients and shades. But that may change soon as the company has now filed a patent design with unique camera placement.

This realme design patent was first shared by an unknown blogger on the internet (via ITHome). We tried to find this patent in the database but unfortunately, we could not get hold of it. Hence, the description of this design mentioned below is purely based on what we think from its appearance.

First and foremost, the design includes a punch-hole display. But weirdly, this camera hole lacks symmetry as it is not properly located at the top left corner. Also, there’s a huge chin at the bottom. All of these indicate this device to be a budget smartphone.

EDITOR’S PICK: OPPO patents the design of realme X50 Pro with its own branding

However, the rear side of the handset tells another story. The camera placement on this handset is unlike on any other realme smartphones that have released so far. Since we haven’t got access to the patent documents yet, we are confused so confused regarding it.

The oval-shaped bump includes four circular holes and a rectangular opening. The circular holes on the left-right side are smaller than the top-bottom openings. Hence, the former two or at least one of them could be for LED flash. 

Further, the rectangular cut could be either for periscope lens, laser auto-focus, or LED flash. We think it could be mostly for the latter two as the device seems to be a budget smartphone since it not only has a large chin on the front but a MicroUSB port at the bottom as well.

The charging/data transfer port is further flanked by speakers on the one side and microphone as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack on the other end. Last but not least, the design includes a power key on the right side and volume buttons on the left side along with a SIM card slot.

Having said that, we are not sure if realme will ever incorporate this design in a consumer-ready smartphone. But we hope that they do as it is refreshing like the design of the newly launched POCO M3.

UP NEXT: Realme Ace with Snapdragon 875 and superfast charging in works, reveals leak

The post realme patents a smartphone design with unique oval-shaped camera bump appeared first on Gizmochina.

A few days back, OPPO unveiled OPPO X 2021 as the world’s first working concept of a rollable smartphone. The company only revealed minute details of this device and did not say if it will be ever hit the shelves. On the other hand, LG has already confirmed that it will release such a phone next year for the public. Ahead of it, the South Korean electronics giant has patented a design for a rollable laptop.

LG is yet to launch a foldable smartphone, however, it has released other interesting products. First and foremost, LG is the only company to commercially sell a rollable smart TV called LG Signature OLED TV R. Also, it is the only brand in the world selling a modern smartphone with a swivel display in the form of LG Wing.

Though the company has confirmed to launch a rollable smartphone next year, it seems to even have plans for a laptop with this very same tech. Because it has filed a design patent for the same. This LG patent was first reported by Root MyGalaxy but the publication does not say anything about when and at which office this patent was filed.

EDITOR’S PICK: LG showcases an array of flexible and rollable displays at the SID 2020

According to the diagrams, the display in this laptop can be unrolled from 13.3-inch up to 17-inch. That’s not all, even the keyboard with a touchpad can be rolled inside the display drum. So when the notebook is completely rolled, it looks like a soundbar.

So what are the use cases of this design? The only one we could think of is that it will take less space in bags. But since flexible technology is fragile, it will take time to perfect this. Hence, we don’t see LG launching a rollable laptop in the near future.

Having said that, if you still want a futuristic computer, Lenovo sells a foldable laptop called ThinkPad X1 Fold, which is limited to certain regions for now.

UP NEXT: Oppo X 2021’s rollable OLED panel is made by BOE

The post LG patents a laptop design with rollable display and keyboard appeared first on Gizmochina.

OPPO is yet to launch a foldable smartphone but the company has been patenting designs for such devices for a while now. So far, almost all of them have been generic without much to brag about. But now, the company has filed four different patents that showcase smartphones that can fold multiple times sporting a unique block structure.

These four patents were filed by Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd. with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) on May 11, 2020. But they got approved and published on November 2, 2020. We stumbled across them while confirming some details of the company’s under-display camera smartphone design patent earlier today.

Now that being said, let us have a look at all the four foldable smartphone design patents by OPPO.

Patent 1

This patent details a design with six blocks and two hinges. The phone folds inwards and the dual-camera setup with an LED flash is located at the bottom front. Whereas, the rear of the handset is blank.

1 of 7

Lastly, due to the two hinges, this handset can be folded either completely or half.

Patent 2

This design patent also has two hinges and six blocks. However, the triple camera setup with an LED flash is located at the back of the phone instead of the front. Above all, it is the only design out of four to fold both inwards and outward.

1 of 12

To be clear, the top portion of the phone folds inwards while the bottom section of the device folds outwards. Hence, it can be folded at both the hinges at a time, making it smaller to carry in pockets easily.

Patent 3

Unlike the first two patents, this one has a total of eight blocks but the number of hinges remains two. Interestingly, there are no cameras on this one. Maybe it features under-display cameras.

1 of 12

As far as folding is concerned, both the hinges fold outwards.

Patent 4

The last patent is similar to the previous one but with two differences. That means it also has two hinges and eight blocks.

1 of 10

But it folds inwards and also sports a triple camera setup on the back accompanied by an LED flash.

Having said that, we are not sure if these designs will ever make it to the hands of consumers in near future. Maybe they will but probably not now as foldables are still a new category of devices with risks like durability and app compatibility.

UP NEXT: Oppo patents a unique smartphone with an outward folding display

The post OPPO patents Unique Foldable Smartphone designs with a weird Block structure appeared first on Gizmochina.

Oppo, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, has recently patented a new device with a unique design aesthetic that features honeycomb designs. The patent was filed in China with the CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration).

In the patent, the Chinese tech giant has also included 8 product sketches alongside 7 colored renders as well. Looking at the patent, the device in question features a punch hole display on the front with a single selfie shooter cutout. Furthermore, the display features narrow bezels along with curved edges. On the rear, a quad camera setup is present on a circular module.

Editor’s Pick: AnTuTu Benchmark August 2020: MediaTek and HiSilicon powered devices lead in mid-range segment

Arriving at the smartphone’s most unique aspect, the display is surrounded by what seems to be a special material. The material could be carbon fiber with a honeycomb structure, which is highlighted in a bright green/blue color scheme. This adds to the appeal to the device while also giving it a tough or armored look. Speakers can also be found both on the top and bottom of the smartphone, which seamlessly blends into the device’s body and the honeycomb designed area.

At the moment, the name of the device is unknown. However, the report from LetsGoDigital, does state that the smartphone could be the successor of the flagship Oppo Ace 2. Unfortunately, that is just speculation and we will have to wait and see if the company actually does release a device with such a design, or whether they were just covering all bases.

UP NEXT: Samsung Galaxy A42 5G and Galaxy Tab A7 pricing and availability confirmed

The post Oppo patents smartphone with a unique Honeycomb design appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi has been lately applying for weird futuristic design patents. Recently, we saw a smartphone design with an all-around screen and a huge 108MP “AI Super Camera”. Now, just a few days later, another patent has emerged that shows a handset with built-in TWS.

As always, this new patent was spotted by LetsGoDigital. The publication also happens to have found the same design last month at the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). But only now, they could understand its design, thanks to the documents submitted at The Hague International Design System, which is part of the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO).

As you can see from the pictures, the smartphone in the design patent is capable of housing a pair of truly wireless earphones, commonly known as TWS. It is similar to the compartment for S Pen on Samsung Galaxy Note series of phones.

The patent does not mention the working of this TWS but it should be connecting with the handset via Bluetooth. Though it is a cool idea to integrate wireless earphones with the phone, it has shortcomings.

For example, housing for buds requires space inside the phone. Hence, the company needs to cut some corners like reduce the battery size to achieve this design. Anyway, we don’t expect Xiaomi to launch such a smartphone in the new future but who knows.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha variant patent spotted with Dual Displays and AI Zoom camera

The post Xiaomi patents a smartphone design with built-in TWS appeared first on Gizmochina.

Xiaomi is known for popularising bezel-less smartphones with its Mi Mix series of smartphones. Last year, the brand unveiled a one of a kind handset called Mi Mix Alpha with an all-around screen. This device is yet to go on sale, however, the company has already patented design for a similar phone at the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA).

The said patent was filed by Xiaomi on January 19, 2020, but the documentation, as well as images, were only published today (July 10, 2020). They were unearthed by none other than the patent experts at LetsGoDigital.

According to the patent, this smartphone will have an all-around display but the top portion of the rear will have a single giant 108MP camera with a zoom lens. The company even calls it “AI Super Camera”.

There are two designs for the same device, one in black color and another with transparent panel showcasing the internals, which could be mere placeholder plastic material like on the Mi 8/Mi 9 Explorer Edition.

There’s only one physical key (power button) and a secondary mic at the top, whereas the bottom houses the speaker, primary mic, and USB Type-C port.

The patent also reveals it to be a 5G phone but there’s no mention of the chipset used. But the transparent edition does describe “5G MODEM IVY 650”, which is not a real thing. Other texts inside the phone include “AI SUPER CAMERA”, “108MP MEGA SENSOR ZOOM LENS F/2.0 – 5.0”, “AI GPU”, “MEMORY”, “MIUI”, “DESIGNED BY XIAOMI”, and “ALWAYS BELIEVE SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN”.

Anyway, it is not known if this handset will ever see the light of the day. Even if it does, we don’t expect Xiaomi to sell it.

UP NEXT: Top 5 Chinese smartphone makers have reportedly tested 120W charging

The post Xiaomi patents a smartphone design with an all-around screen and a huge 108MP sensor appeared first on Gizmochina.