As the fitness band market slowly matures into a saturation point like the current generation of slab smartphones, the next expected upgrade would be more screen real estate for the user to utilise. For smartphones, the next generational leap is set to be foldables, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Oppo Find N, and rollables such as the Oppo X 2021 and TCL concept devices with their flexible displays. 

For fitness bands, Xiaomi seems to think that flexible displays are the future for fitness bands as well because the company has been developing a new design for its fitness bands by utilising flexible displays.

The news comes from one of China’s patent databases as Xiaomi recently got approved of its design patent to build a fitness band that includes a rollable-type flexible display in the build of the device. The design of the device is as follows, whereby ‘A’ is pointing at the section where the flexible display will be installed.

According to the patent listing, the name of the patent design is called “Smart Bracelet”, and its function is categorised under wearables. The patent highlights that the unique design of smart band focuses on the shape and ergonomics of the fitness band. 

The patent includes views of the design of the fitness band from multiple angles and it is as follows:

Xiaomi is not the first manufacturer that has experimented with flexible display for wearables, as back in 2020, Nubia had released its Nubia Watch with a flexible display that rolled up until it could wrap the front of your wrists. 

The Nubia Watch features a 4.01-inch super flexible AMOLED screen that tends to wrap around the wrist. The dial is made from a lightweight aluminium alloy manufactured using a nano-injection process while it uses biomedical-grade ceramics on the side. The overall lightweight design makes it lighter to wear.

The Nubia Watch was launched on Kickstarter and carried a starting price of $179 in September 2020.

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(Via)

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TCL is known to experiment with flexible displays. The company has shown concept phones with different forms of foldable displays and another with a rollable display, however, it is yet to release a commercially available foldable phone. At its launch event today, it showed off another concept device called the TCL Fold ‘n Roll. This phone not only folds but also unrolls, making it a 3-in-1 device.

The TCL Fold n’ Roll in its default state has an outward folding design. This means that in its folded state, the flexible screen covers both the front and the back.

In its folded state (smartphone mode), the front/cover display measures 6.87-inches. When unfolded, the display is 8.85-inches in size; TCL calls this phablet mode. Finally, when the display rolls out, you have a 10-inch tablet. So three different modes but a single device.

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The device has two slits at the bottom which we believe are for the speaker. There is a USB-C port and what appears to be a stylus right beside it. There is also a button at the top and we can make out three cameras that double as both front-facing cameras and rear cameras.

TCL says the Fold ‘n Roll is a concept device but showed albeit very briefly a working prototype. Nevertheless, the company does plan to release its first commercially available foldable device later this year.

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Xiaomi has recently patented a new smartphone with a very unique design. The device features a sliding mechanism that is built into its flexible display, which wraps around the body of the handset.

Traditional slider phones generally have two bodies that are joined together, with one sliding up to reveal a camera or another mechanism. However, in this case, the Chinese tech giant has built a sliding device with just a single body but built the sliding mechanism into the flexible display itself. Looking at the image provided, the display of the patented smartphone covers the front and only 3/4th of the rear portion that wraps around the device from the bottom. This was first reported by WindowsUnited, with the patent being found in the incoPat Global Patent Database.

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Thus, when the flexible display slides downward to unveil the front facing cameras and other sensors, the display on the back also rises upward. To put things simply, the display is the only portion that moves due to a sliding mechanism, which is possible due to the screen itself being flexible and covers both the front and back portions. This makes it stand out from any other slider phones that are available in the market at the moment.

Unfortunately, finer details regarding this very unique device are currently unknown. It is also unclear whether Xiaomi is actually working on such a device or if it is just covering all bases. However, this is a never before seen use of a flexible display and sliding mechanism, which shows that innovation is still what drives the company.

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Samsung, the known smartphones and other consumer electronics manufacturer, is apparently planning to ramp up the production of its foldable displays. The South Korean tech giant’s production line is currently capable of manufacturing 260,000 units per month. However, this number is expected to grow by about 600,000 units per month by the end of May while by the end of 2020, the production capacity is expected to rise further, up to million units a month.

This sizeable growth would be around a quadruple that of current standards. For those unaware, Samsung is one of the leaders for flexible OLED displays. The company was one of the first to ever release the first foldable smartphone and has also recently unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip, showcasing its increasing focus on such smartphones.

Since 2019, the demand for foldable screens has grown, thus, Samsung is aiming to supply such folding displays not just for its own offerings but for other OEMs as well. Furthermore, the company is also planning to build additional facilities to boost the production of the flexible display panels. These facilities are planned for Vietnam and will supplement the other production lines back in its home country, South Korea.

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According to an announcement from Philoptics, responsible for supplying cutting equipment for Samsung displays, the company has plans to provide $13.8 million and $5.84 million worth of equipment by the end of both May and July. This is indicative of the increasing scales of operations for the foldable displays and is in line with Samsung’s schedule as well.

Samsung is one of the largest manufacturers for OLED displays. The company is using this position of its to profit from a growing demand for such displays. It has been reported on multiple occasions that the smartphone market is under a stagnation period, so the increasing demand will only serve to benefit Samsung in this regard. Notably, Samsung had also recently achieved a breakthrough in displays with its UTG (Ultra Thin Glass) technology which is flexible while still offering better protection in comparison to plastic OLEDs.

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(Via)

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Many smartphone makers have introduced their foldable smartphones in the past year, including Samsung Galaxy Fold, Huawei Mate X, and Motorola RAZR. However, LG has not yet revealed anything officially regarding the launch of a similar phone from the company.

Instead of launching a smartphone with a foldable display, the company introduced LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen which comes with a detachable dual display design. While the company has confirmed the development of a foldable phone and has even patent a few phones with a similar design, nothing has materialised so far.

After patenting smartphone with a pull-out display and roll-up display, LG has now patented a new smartphone design which features a wrap-around display. This seems similar to the Mi MIX Alpha but with flexible display and more screen-to-body ratio.

The patent for the wrap-around display smartphone from LG also includes several images, which showcase that apart from a thick frame border at the top, there are very thin borders on the bottom, left and right side.

The top bezel holds dual camera sensors along with an LED flash. While there’s no border on the right side, the screen continues towards that side and wraps-around the back panel. Interestingly, there will be no rear-facing cameras given that the display extends all the way to the back panel. Instead, it seems that the front-facing sensors would double up as the rear cameras.

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From the documentation, it is not yet clear how the display is being held in place but its likely because of some magnetic mechanism. It is also possible to remove the extending flexible screen from the housing by pressing a button.

When the device is closed, there are two displays on the device — one on the front side and the other at the back. Once the device is opened, the phone turns into a tablet with a bigger display. The speaker grille is visible on the top as well as bottom, along with a microphone. There’s a microUSB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom and a power button at the top side.

Mobile World Congress 2020 is scheduled to kick-off in Barcelona, Spain next month and Samsung and Huawei will be introducing their second-generation foldable devices — Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Huawei Mate Xs. It remains to be seen if LG takes the stage to introduce experimental smartphones at the MWC 2020.

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(Source)

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TCL and Juhua have just showcased a 31 inch rollable OLED TV prototype. It is being touted as the world’s first to be made with an inkjet technology and combines TFT with an OLED display.

Interestingly, the inclusion of two different technologies gives it the advantage of having quantum dots from the OLED with the backplane of TFT screens. This allows the prototype unit to output 200 nits of brightness which cover 90 percent of the DCI P3 color space.

The rollable OLED TV prototype was developed by the National Printing and Flexible Display Innovation Center with Guangdong Juhua’s printing display technology and TCL (through CSOT, a Chinese panel manufacturer). In simpler terms, the printed OLED display is a new breed of such display and the prototype made in collaboration is the first of its kind.

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In comparison to traditional displays with conventional evaporation technology, the new type of display brings a wide range of advantages. These include, not requiring FMM (fine metal mask), simple device structure, high material utilization and support for large sizes.

Most importantly, the main advantage of such types of flexible displays are the low cost of development. As of right now, devices and technology related to flexible displays are relatively expensive. Thus, the newer method can lead to a positive development in the future due to its economic value.

Notably, the prototype rollable TV from TCL and Juhua also bears significant resemblance to LG’s rollable 4K OLED TV.

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(Via)

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Xiaomi and Huawei will reportedly use foldable smartphone panels from Samsung Display this year. This will be a shift from their current flexible/foldable panel suppliers. Huawei Mate X used foldable panels from China’s BOE while Xiaomi’s Mi Mix Alpha used a flexible display from another Chinese display maker, Visionox.

According to the new report, Xiaomi’s foldable smartphone will use flexible panels made by Samsung Display. Visionox was supplying foldable panels to Xiaomi initially but the yield was reportedly not enough to produce the panels in large quantities. So Xiaomi is said to be in talks with Samsung Display to secure supply for foldable panels. However, the same report states that we might not see a foldable phone from Xiaomi this year.

What’s surprising is that Huawei is also reportedly shifting its foldable panel supplier this year. The report states that the telecommunications giant is already in the process of securing foldable panels for its smartphone from Samsung Display. Its Mate X came with BOE’s foldable panels but Samsung Display’s panel reportedly has better quality and quantity. It is said that Huawei is likely to use Samsung Display as the primary supplier for its foldable, with BOE acting as an additional supplier.

The report also states that Huawei’s next-generation foldable smartphone will launch in the second half of the year alongside the second-generation Galaxy Fold model. This makes sense given how the Mate X2 is rumored to release sometime around IFA 2020. The rumor also said that the X2 will be outward folding, similar to the Galaxy Fold.

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Note that the new foldable smartphone expected at MWC 2020 in February is the Mate XS, a slightly modified version of the existing Mate X foldable, most likely using BOE’s foldable panel.

The recent success of the Galaxy Fold seems to have boosted Samsung Display’s reputation in the market. It is said that the display maker received a lot of interest from top Chinese smartphone makers like OPPO, Vivo, & Huawei but its initial focus is on supplying foldable panels to Samsung. After the launch of the clamshell Galaxy Fold model sometime before MWC, Samsung Display will focus on supplying panels for the Mate X2 and the second generation Galaxy Fold devices. In the meantime, it is likely to start supplying panels for the foldable smartphone from Xiaomi, expected to launch in 2021.

So it looks like Samsung and Huawei are likely to remain the top foldable smartphone makers, even in 2020.

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(Source)

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LG is yet to announce its first foldable device but over the past few months, we have seen a couple of patents for foldable phones filed by the Korean giant. In September, we reported LG patented a phone with a rollable display and last month, we also covered its patent for a smartphone with a display that extends, thereby transforming it into a tablet.

The most recent one is for another foldable device with an outward-folding design similar to Huawei’s Mate X. First, reported by LetsGoDigital, the patent diagrams show the device has three cameras on the left side of the screen. When unfolded, the cameras can be used for taking selfies and for video recording while they serve as rear cameras when folded.

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It has been reported that the patent was filed back in May 2019 before it was published on November 29, 2019.

There are reports LG is working on a foldable device but we do not know which of the designs we have seen in recent months it will adopt. Nevertheless, we don’t expect the device to launch until next year and when it does, it most probably will be a 5G device.

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(Via)

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What comes after foldable smartphones? Visionox believes it’ll be rollable smartphones that’ll take the spotlight after the foldable craze. And we have got a glimpse of how it could look like at the recent World Conference in the Display Industry. At the three-day event held in Hefei, Anhui Province of China, Visionox showcased its rollable flexible AMOLED panel alongside a couple of other interesting products like a foldable clamshell smartphone.

Visionox said that the rollable display design will greatly reduce the area taken up by the display, even less than foldables. The Visionox rollable display demoed at the event had a dynamic curl radius of 7mm and features on-cell touch display integration technology and self-lamination. However, it’s clear that this technology will still take some time before it matures. The demo unit at the event was still in the form of the raw display and not installed on a smartphone. It’s worth adding that companies like BOE and LG Display have demoed rollable panels in the past.

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Apart from the rollable display, Visionox also demoed an interesting clamshell foldable smartphone. This was even more exciting because it was in the form of an actual smartphone that could be folded in half at the center. Unlike the Motorola Razr, this one looked like a regular Android smartphone with the only exception that it could be folded into half at the center.

The foldable clamshell smartphone features a regular 6.47-inch flexible AMOLED display with on-cell technology. Visionox adds that there won’t be a crease at the center when unfolded. The phone comes with a waterdrop notch on top and transforms into a 13.3mm thick phone in its folded form factor.

In addition to these two next-generation display products, Visionox also showcased a truly bezel-less smartphone. The phone features a tiny 1.5mm bezel at the bottom and 0.7mm bezels on the other three sides. The screen to body ratio is as high as 96.57%.

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(Via 1, 2)

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Foldables are the new craze in town, and we already have commercial foldable devices from the world’s top two smartphone makers: Samsung and Huawei. While Samsung’s Galaxy Fold went on sale back in September in multiple markets, the Huawei Mate X foldable will go on sale in China on November 15. In fact, earlier today, even TCL showed off an impressive foldable phone with a triple-folding design. 

While we are all impressed with the flexible display on these foldables that transform them from a tiny smartphone to a large screen tablet, Meizu’s ex-VP, Li Nan, thinks these displays are better suited for smartwatches. He backs his statement saying that a flexible screen will allow smartwatches to increase their screen real estate without sacrificing on durability since the bend range is limited. 

Notably, flexible screens have been used in smartwatches before, and the Nubia Alpha is the best example of this design. The company has used a 4-inch 192×960 foldable display on its smartwatch shaped phone that allows it to wrap around a user’s wrist. 

Irrespective of Li Nan’s opinion, foldable smartphones will continue to pop-up in the market in the next few years. Xiaomi, OPPO, and other brands have already confirmed that they are working on a foldable phone. The Xiaomi’s Mi Mix Alpha is just a glimpse of our smartphone future with the help of flexible screens. 

So what do you think? Should companies focus more on smartphone concepts like Nubia Alpha that stay on your wrist?

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(Via)

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In the Q1 of 2019, Samsung launched the Galaxy Fold which could be titled ‘one of the most innovative smartphones of the year’. However, the company is not stopping there, based upon freshly granted patents, it is working on yet another distinctive handset that features a sliding touch screen display which can conceal the top bezel.

To put it simply, the smartphone has a flexible display which is attached to a complex rack and pinion mechanism that allows it to slide upwards or downwards. Due to which, it can either hide or reveal the bezel above the display that accommodates the selfie camera and the earpiece for receiving phone calls.

Even though this is not that first time we are coming across a smartphone with a sliding display, the previously launched Mi Mix 3 is a prime example of this idea; but instead of the whole display assembly sliding upwards or downwards on Xiaomi‘s offering, Samsung’s device has a movable flexible display which is a completely different implementation.

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According to the illustrations, whenever the user receives an audio or video call, they can slide the display downwards which will reveal the earpiece, front camera while simultaneously accepting the incoming call. Similarly sliding the display back upward will result in ending the call.

It is currently unknown, whether or not this fancy sliding display provides for any other function except for answering calls. With that being said, it does provide the smartphone with a high screen-to-body ratio that gives it an elegant look.

To wrap things up, the concept behind the patent definitely looks intriguing, however, it cannot be confirmed whether this particular device will see the light of the day or not. Presumably, the technology could make its way to future offerings from the company for which we will have to wait patiently.

Readers interested in checking out the patent can do so by clicking here.

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Foldable displays are far from taking over the world but with what we have seen with respect to real devices, we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to designs. Last week, we saw a Google patent for a phone with several displays and a design similar to a book. Today, it is IBM’s turn to show us another unusual device – a smartwatch with multiple displays that can unfold into a phone or a tablet.

According to LetsGoDigital who discovered the patent titled “Variable Display Size For an Electronic Display Device”, IBM filed the application back in 2016 but didn’t get it approved until last month.

The patent says the electronic device is designed to operate in one or more display configurations with varying screen sizes. In the default mode, it is a smartwatch with a significantly thick case. This case houses secondary displays stacked in layers behind the main display. These secondary displays can then be extended from the housing and positioned adjacent to the main display.

The patent says each display measures 3” x 2”. When you switch to the second configuration, the display size becomes 6” x 4” which means three more displays are added in the second configuration. A third configuration brings the dimension to 12” x 8” which is really big for a tablet. However, based on the patent images shown above, the third configuration will actually be 6” x 8” as only the width seems to have doubled.

LetsGoDigital has made 3D renders of the device which provide an idea of what it may look like as a final product. Though we are pretty sure the device will never be used in the positions shown as there is no way the strap can support the weight of the extended displays. It will definitely have to lay down flat when needed to be used as a phone or tablet.

(Sources: 1, 2)

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Samsung already makes phones with curved displays but it has always been limited to just two sides. A publicized patent filed in November 2018 at the World Intellectual Property Organization shows the Korean phone manufacturer may want to make one with all the sides curved including the top and bottom.

Does the design sound familiar? Yes, the Honor Magic from 2016 also has all its sides curved but Samsung’s is a bit different. The major difference is the size of the bezels. Unlike the Honor Magic which has thick bezels at the top and bottom, Samsung’s phone keeps them to a minimum for a practically all-screen design.

Another difference is that Samsung hides the sensors and front-facing camera under the display. Since the display is curved and laying the camera flat will result in distorted images, the patent says the sensor is placed at an angle. There isn’t a fingerprint scanner on the back or sides which means it is also under the screen. The patent diagram shows the phone has dual rear cameras and a single button on the side.

LetsGoDigital has made 3D renders of the device to give us an idea what the phone may look like. Looking at the images, all we can say is it sure is going to be a really slippery phone although the patent says the curves will provide a firmer grip. The patent says the back which is also curved on all sides can be made of metal but knowing Samsung, Glass will probably be the material of choice.

We have no info if this will ever be released as a commercial device and even if it is, it sure will be different from what the images show as everyday usage will be considered during the design. Nevertheless, we sure will love to see a working prototype at least.

(Sources: 1, 2)

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The Samsung Galaxy Fold is yet to get a new release date following the string of display issues that plagued review units. Huawei’s Mate X won’t be arriving soon too with the troubles the manufacturer is currently facing. If you want another foldable device from a top manufacturer, then you may want to look forward to Sony’s Xperia F. However, you will have to wait until next year.

A report has surfaced that reveals Sony is developing a device that is currently referred to as the Xperia F 5G. The Japanese phone maker is said to be in talks with Samsung to supply OLED displays with a 21:18 aspect ratio.

The name alone hints at the device having a foldable display. However, the aspect ratio also contains hidden info. The new Xperia 1 has an aspect ratio of 21:9 which means this device with an aspect ratio of 21:18 is similar to having two Xperia 1 phones side-by-side. The only way for this design to work is if it is foldable.

The source also says the Xperia F 5G will launch in 2020 alongside the PlayStation 5 (PS5) and from the name, we know it is also a 5G device. There are speculations that its arrival alongside the next-gen Sony console may mean it will have some gaming features.

Sony says its devices are designed to provide entertainment, so it won’t be unusual if the Xperia F 5G has special features tied to the PS5. And with it supporting 5G, it may be the birth of new ways for owners to play console-grade games on their smartphone.

(Source)

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Earlier this week, Samsung unveiled its first foldable phone – the Galaxy Fold. It’s an interesting device albeit with a pretty steep price. Huawei will announce its own foldable device in a few days at MWC 2019 and a picture of a poster taken at the event has revealed it will launch as the Mate X.

Yes, Huawei’s foldable phone will be commercially known as the Mate X and not the Mate F, or Mate Flexi, or Mate Fold. Huawei actually applied for a trademark for the name back in February last year. Even at a point, the Mate X was thought to be the name of the device that eventually launched as the Mate RS Porsche Design.

With respect to design, the Mate X has only one display, unlike the Galaxy Fold. It also has pretty thin bezels and doesn’t have a notch. It doesn’t appear to be as wide though. The flexible screen actually folds backward into phone mode.

The right side of the phone’s frame is also thicker which is not surprising seeing as that is where the cameras and controls are located. There is a side-mounted fingerprint scanner with a button above it and on the back is a triple camera setup.

READ MORE: Huawei P30 Lite case renders confirm waterdrop notch display and three cameras

The Huawei Mate X will support 5G thanks to Huawei’s Balong 5000 modem and will be powered by the Kirin 980 processor. There is no info on how much it will cost but we won’t be surprised if it is cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Fold.

(Source, Via)

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In the natural evolution of smartphones, full screen phones are just a pit stop. The real future of smartphones is likely going to be foldables. While foldable smartphones are still in their nascent stages, in the next couple of years, they’ll no longer be concepts. Every major smartphone company is said to be working on at least one foldable phone design and it’ll only be a matter of time we start seeing these concepts turn into reality. In fact, a couple of smartphone manufacturers have already confirmed that their versions of foldable smartphones are already near commercial release. We’ll likely see at least two new foldable smartphones in 2019, but personally, I believe, this figure is going to be higher.

Foldable Phones Make Sense

As smartphones are getting bigger in size, we have come to a point where the term ‘phablets’ have become redundant. What was initially a special niche segment, now most flagships are essentially phablets. That’s the new normal, hence they don’t need a special name.

As the race to reduce bezels around the display have come to a point where we have had to add a slider to the device, the next big step forward is going to be foldables. Even with zero bezels around the display, there’s a certain limit to a smartphone’s size since we can’t hold huge phones comfortably. So, what’s the next best solution without really degrading the user experience?

Foldables.

Our love for large screens will never be satiated. As our media consumption on mobile devices have increased, there have been an increased demand for large screen devices. With high-speed internet access available for mobile devices, especially after the availability of 5G networks, our media usage on mobile devices is going to shoot up. This brings up the need for larger screens and hence foldables. Maybe, in the future, we could see smartphones with multiple folds too! It makes sense on so many levels and the first gen. foldable devices with a single inward or outward fold could just be the start of this revolution.

Even Google agrees that foldables make sense. In fact, in the recent iteration of Android, there’s a special support for smartphones that fold inwards or outwards. Native Android support for foldables is definitely a welcome sign for its future. Plus, the screen continuity feature, which essentially expands the app in view as you open or fold an app looks really cool!

Now that we’ve established why foldables make sense, let’s see which manufacturers are on their way to release one.

Which Companies Are Working on Foldable Smartphones?

Samsung

Ever since we saw a glimpse of the flexible display on the Galaxy Note Edge model, we knew that a foldable smartphone would come from Samsung in the near future. While it’s been four years since the launch of the first Edge model with a curved screen, we finally have a launch confirmation.

After years of rumours and speculations, Samsung officially demoed its first ever foldable smartphone at the recent Developer Conference in the US. The company also confirmed that a commercial version of its foldable smartphone will be launched sometime in 2019. The Infinity Flex display will go into mass production in the coming months and we can expect the phone to be available later in 2019. Note that Samsung adds that the flexible display can be folded hundreds of thousands of times without showing any real signs of wear and tear. That’s pretty impressive and dismisses our first major concern associated with a foldable smartphone.

DESIGN:

The Galaxy F or X or whatever it’ll be called at launch is confirmed to feature a 7.3-inch large display that folds inwards. When you fold the device, you are left with a small 4.5-inch display up front. So essentially, there are two displays on Samsung’s foldable phone — a regular one up front and a larger infinity flex display inside.

The particular design is likely based on this patent filed by Samsung.

RELEASE:

Expect the foldable Samsung phone earliest by CES 2019, but MWC 2019 showcase is more likely with its availability probably scheduled for a few months later. Yonhap reports that the launch could be as early as March alongside a 5G version of the Galaxy S10, but we’ll have to wait for more details.

Huawei

Huawei is yet another company who has confirmed that a foldable smartphone will meet us in 2019. In the past few years, the company has stepped up its game in the smartphone market with a lot of innovations, including a four camera setup on the new Mate 20 Pro. It’s not even shy of putting very large screen in its smartphones, like the recently released 7.2-inch Mate 20X (our video review here!).

DESIGN:

Huawei is in a race with Samsung to release the first foldable smartphone by a major brand. And it’s determined to win. Unlike the traditional design where the display folds inside, Huawei seems to be working on a device that folds outwards. So in the unfolded position, there will be an 8-inch large display, making it essentially as large as a tablet. However, you can fold this display outwards, essentially, keeping just one side of the screen in view. This is exactly the opposite of what Samsung is doing. Samsung’s foldable phone folds inwards and has a second screen up front that will work in the smartphone mode.

While this brings up a lot of questions like how does Huawei plan to protect the display if its always exposed, the real question is whether this is the final design. Huawei is yet to confirm the design on its upcoming foldable smartphone, so we can’t say anything for sure.

But there have been multiple rumours and even a patent at WIPO (featuring this outward folding design) that tips that the Chinese tech giant could be working on such a design.

RELEASE: 

Huawei could beat Samsung to the release of its first foldable smartphone at MWC 2019. Interestingly, even Samsung is said to showcase its foldable phone at the same event. So, I guess, the real competition would be in who manages to make its device available to the market first.

Most recent reports indicate that Huawei could release its foldable smartphone first in South Korea (Samsung’s home market!), thanks to its early 5G commercialisation plans. This goes on to hint that its foldable phone will support 5G as well.

Unfortunately, no word on its pricing yet, but expect it to be close to the $2000 mark. Huawei isn’t shy of slapping an expensive price tag to its products (Mate 20 RS being the case in point), so this isn’t a device that’s going to be affordable.

ROYOLE:

Royole is a surprise entry in this list and to be honest, no one ever thought that a startup would beat giants like Samsung and Huawei in releasing the world’s first commercial foldable smartphone. And it did this using in house tech which is pretty impressive.

DESIGN:

The Royole FlexPai adopts an outward folding design, which means there is one big display on the outside. The phone folds in the middle leaving the display exposed on the two sides. It works as described and the design really brings the concept into reality. Despite being a working model, the FlexPai doesn’t look very premium. It’s clear that the FlexPai isn’t a polished device, and that’s usually the case with first gen. devices. Big brands like Huawei and Samsung are likely going to come up with a much better design for their foldables.

RELEASE: 

The Royole FlexPai foldable smartphone will reportedly ship in December. While we are still not sure of the company’s scalability of such a design, it would really be an achievement for a small six year old company to beat the big giants in releasing such a device.

The FlexPai is priced from 8999 to 12999 yuan ($1,295 to $1,871), which isn’t exactly cheap. But if you want a foldable device for yourself, then this is all you’ve got right now.

LG

A foldable smartphone from LG is in the cards and it’s not surprising given that it’s currently one of the biggest display companies in the world. The company has already demoed flexible displays in the past and now it’s working on a model that folds.

DESIGN:

LG is said to be working on a device that folds on the outside, similar to the Huawei design. While we don’t have an official confirmation on the design from LG, this is what it could look like according to the company’s recent patent at WIPO.

The images, which were attached to the patent, reveals that both the displays connected through two hinges — one on the top and another on the bottom side. This enables both screens to open and combine to form one large display.

In a partially open position, the device can be used by two persons to watch video separately, using the two headphone jacks. Interestingly, both hosting packs their own battery as well as camera module. While the patent was filed in September 2016, it mentions that the primary display is equipped with an under-display fingerprint sensor.

RELEASE: 

LG is not going to focus on launching its foldable smartphone anytime soon. Instead, the company is taking the “perfecting the experience” approach before bringing it to the market. This could mean that we might not see a foldable from the South Korean company next year. As such, the details are very scarce right now.

ZTE

ZTE was one of the first companies to tease us with the idea of foldable smartphones. Well, its innovative Axon M failed to impress the likes of many, because it was basically two displays joined together with a hinge. In the tablet mode, you could clearly see the gap between the display. In short, it was not really the foldable experience we expected. However, ZTE’s VP of Marketing, Jeff Yee had something to add in a recent interview. “We’ll eventually get to something that’s truly bendable,” Yee said. “There’s a lot of others things that we might be adding over time.”

DESIGN:

ZTE’s foldable phone will most likely be an extension of the AXON M. We could see a flexible display (instead of the two display design) that folds at the center outwards. The company did have a few nifty features to make use of the two displays on board and we could see a similar application for its real foldable phone as well.

RELEASE: 

Considering what ZTE had to face earlier this year, it seems very unlikely that we’ll see a real foldable smartphone from ZTE anytime soon. All we know right now is that the company is working on one but no word on a release date yet.

MICROSOFT:

Microsoft may not be known for its smartphones (at least not now), but the company has a solid R&D team and knows how to make quality products (eg. Surface tablets). We have been hearing about the rumoured Andromeda surface phone for a very long time and reports say that the phone, when it launches finally, could feature a foldable design.

DESIGN:

Unlike LG, who seems to be focused on enhancing multi-media experience with its foldable phone, Microsoft is reportedly all about increasing productivity. The company wants to blur the line between mobiles and PCs and a foldable design seems to be the best way to achieve this.

If you have any doubts about its existence then know that the verge managed to get their hands on internal document talking about the device. In the words of the verge,

“It’s a new pocketable Surface device form factor that brings together innovative new hardware and software experiences to create a truly personal and versatile computing experience.”

So, it’s yet another design where the display folds on the outside. The prototype design seems to be similar to the renders by the designer David Breyer.

RELEASE: 

While the foldable device from Microsoft is in the works, there isn’t any guarantee that it will see the light of the day. Verge’s article states that there’s a chance that the project could be canned at any stage. So, don’t get your hopes too high.

APPLE:

Apple won’t be left out of the foldable party as the Cupertino giant is said to be working on a foldable prototype.

DESIGN:

Apple’s design seems to involve overlapping hinges or other features such as magnetic structures (Apple loves magnets!) to allow the flexible display to bend. The design could be tweaked to allow the display to fold inwards or outwards. These details were leaked by a recent patent filing by the company.

“The hinge may be configured to allow the flexible display to be placed in a front-to-front configuration in which an active side of the display faces itself or a back-to-back configuration,” reveals the patent. 

Basically, the design is going to be similar to what we have been seeing from other patents. However, Apple is known to release refined products in the market which means that the design would most likely tweaked to offer a seamless experience. One likely change is going to be the type of hinge used as the skeleton to the flexible display.

Interestingly, there’s one more design patented by Apple, which looks a lot more futuristic. The patent reveals that the display can be rolled up like a sheet of paper. Now there’s a reason why we call it futuristic, because it’s not really going to happen anytime soon. The first gen. foldable smartphone from Apple is likely going to feature a folding design similar to the ones we have been seeing from other brands.

RELEASE:

It’s too early to say when Apple will release its foldable smartphone but early reports quote a 2020 deadline. CNBC in its report earlier this year quoted Wamsi Mohan from Bank of America Merrill Lynch “Our checks also suggest that Apple is working with suppliers on a foldable phone (that potentially could double up as a tablet) for launch in 2020.”

LENOVO / MOTO

Lenovo / Moto seems to be working on a different kind of foldable phone. Patents reveal that the company is trying to make a smartphone more portable without compromising on the screen real estate. This is made possible by adopting a design similar to a clamshell phone, like the iconic Moto Razr flip series.

DESIGN:

Unlike other companies where foldable phones feature a tablet sized display that folds into a compact phone, Moto seems to be working on a device that makes an existing smartphone sized display even smaller. Patents reveal that the phone features a hinge in the middle and the regular sized display closes inwards to take the shape of a clamshell phone. It’s basically a flip phone with a  flexible display.

RELEASE: 

While Moto hasn’t revealed anything about foldable smartphones, we know from Lenovo that they are very much invested in such a device. The company had earlier teased a similar looking foldable phone with clamshell design but we still don’t have a word about its release date. Considering they managed to show a prototype in action, we could see a Lenovo / Moto branded foldable phone before other companies.

This turned out to be a really long article. But if you have reached here, well done! This means that you’ve read the entire article, or at least scrolled through it. As a bonus, I’ll add that Xiaomi, OPPO, and even ASUS is expected to be working on foldable smartphones. You can read about the patent from OPPO here or about Xiaomi’s first foldable smartphone news from here.

This kind of sums up about what we know about foldables so far.

The post Here’s an In-Depth Look at All the Upcoming Foldable Phones and When They’ll Launch appeared first on Gizmochina.

A Chinese manufacturer you have probably never heard of has beaten the smartphone giants in the race to release the first phone with a foldable display. Rouyu Technology, today, released the FlexPai, the first foldable phone with a flexible display.

The FlexPai isn’t just the first mobile device with a foldable and flexible display but also the first mobile phone to be powered by the yet-to-be-announced Snapdragon 8150 a.k.a. Snapdragon 855.

The FlexPai has a 7.8-inch high-definition display and is said to have a thickness of just 7.6mm. The exact resolution is not stated and we have no info specifying if the display is LCD or AMOLED.

The device comes in three configurations – 6GB+128GB, 8GB+256GB, and 8GB+512GB. It also has dual rear cameras – a 16MP wide-angle lens and a 20MP telephoto lens. The camera is on the left side when the device is laid out flat.

Rouyu Technolgy also says the device supports a proprietary fast-charging technology called Ro-Charge that can charge the device from 0 to 80% in 1 hour. Ro-Charge is said to be 40% faster and has an efficiency rating of 94% and also has 3-layers of protection. However, they didn’t state the battery capacity of the FlexPai.

This is the "world's first foldable screen phone" released by Rouyu Technology, which will use the Snapdragon 8150 processor, but its design is very rough, just to seize the "first", this is a futures product. pic.twitter.com/M0v9o2z0Bw

— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) October 31, 2018

The FlexPai isn’t a refined device and from a video shared on Twitter by the leaker @UniverseIce, one can see it isn’t a device that can fit into your pocket even when folded which sort of defeats the whole point. Like UniverseIce said in the caption, this is just a company trying to get known as the first to release a foldable phone with a flexible display.

READ MORE: Samsung anticipated foldable Galaxy X could unveil next month

The FlexPai isn’t cheap though. The 6GB RAM version is priced at ¥8999 (~$1290), the 8GB + 256GB model will sell for ¥9998 (~$1434), and the 8GB + 512GB version jumps to ¥12999 (~$1864). There will be a flash sale tomorrow at 10:01 AM local time.

(Sources: 1, 2)

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Samsung foldable phone rumours or leaks are not new; they have been coming from the past several years. Today, Samsung Mobile Business CEO, D.J. Koh has spilled some beans on its upcoming foldable smartphone. Talking to CNET, Samsung’s D.J. Koh says that the foldable device can be transformed into a tablet and you can fold it up as a phone to put in your pocket. This new feature will help users to multitask along with easy portability.

Just like LG’s comment, Samsung’s D.J.Koh also pointed out that the foldable phone should be meaningful. He added that it is not viable to deliver products which don’t provide a good user experience. He stressed that the foldable phone wouldn’t be a “gimmick product” that will “disappear after six to nine months after it’s delivered.”

Koh told Cnet that, “When we deliver a foldable phone, it has to be really meaningful to our customer, If the user experience is not up to my standard, I don’t want to deliver those kinds of products.”

These comments provide clarity on the features that Samsung foldable phone will possess. The talks also relate to a rumour which states that Galaxy X will carry a 7.3-inch foldable display. Koh suggested that the device will open and close like a book.

Earlier, Koh has already confirmed that the foldable device will not make its way to the general public this year. In ending comments Koh suggested that Samsung will start selling the phone under a different small niche, later it will expand with time.

• Read More: Samsung Foldable Phone To Have A 3000mAh Or More Flexible Battery

“Possibly when we start selling the foldable phone, it may be a niche market, but definitely, it will expand,” Koh told CNET. “I’m positive that we do need a foldable phone.”

We are expecting some more information about the device at next month’s Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) 2018.

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The foldable phone race is not only between phone makers but also display manufacturers. China’s BOE is one of the players in the display market and has been showing off its flexible displays for a while now. Earlier this week, a video showing off a prototype foldable phone with a BOE display surfaced online.

The 14-second video was shared on Twitter by Ben Geskin and he says the display is 5.99-inches with an FHD+ resolution. There are slightly thick bezels at the top and bottom of the screen. The phone also has a single camera on the back and doesn’t seem to have a fingerprint scanner. Since this is a prototype, we are not concerned about the specs.

Foldable phones are coming!

This is BOE foldable display demo (5.99" FHD+) pic.twitter.com/abPxWBCe2y

— Ben Geskin (@VenyaGeskin1) September 4, 2018

The phone doesn’t seem to stay closed when folded as seen in the video. We are also not sure about the material used for the back of the phone though we want to believe it is a plastic material that can withstand multiple foldings without breaking.

READ MORE: Samsung’s foldable smartphone is coming this year, will lead to an increase in demand for flexible OLED displays

BOE is said to be the display supplier for Huawei‘s own foldable smartphones but the Chinese company is also trying to win over Apple. Huawei won’t release its foldable phone until next year, so there is still a bit of waiting. Samsung, on the other hand, has announced that its foldable smartphone will launch this year.

(Source)

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The last we heard about Samsung’s foldable smartphone is that the device will launch in early 2019. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. The CEO of the Korean giant’s mobile division, DJ Koh, has revealed that we are getting it this year.

The device is expected to double as a phone and a tablet but Samsung doesn’t want to stop there. Mr. Koh says they are working on providing an experience different from what you get from a tablet when the device is unfolded. The experience has to be different so that consumers can buy it rather than purchase a regular tablet.

But even unfolded, what kind of benefit does that give compared to the tablet? If the unfolded experience is the same as the tablet, why would they (consumers) buy it? So every device, every feature, every innovation should have a meaningful message to our end customer. So when the end customer uses it, (they think) ‘wow, this is the reason Samsung made it’.”-DJ Koh, CEO, Samsung Mobile

Speaking in an interview with CNBC at IFA, DJ Koh said more details of the foldable Galaxy phone will be revealed at the Samsung Developer Conference which will hold in San Francisco this November. However, he did admit that making the device is “complicated” but they have “nearly concluded” it. Do note that even if the device is announced in November, it may not be available for purchase until months later.

Unlike the ZTE Axon M, Samsung’s own phone is expected to have a flexible screen and not a hinge connecting two screens.

In other news, demand for foldable screens is expected to rise following the release of Samsung’s own foldable phone according to a new report. While Samsung may be taking the early lead in supplying manufacturers with flexible screens, competitors will be hard at work trying to grab some of that market for themselves.

China’s BOE may be Apple’s suppliers of flexible OLED displays come next year as the Cupertino-based company is trying to wean itself off Samsung. LG Display is also speeding up development of its own OLED displays so as to start offering them to manufacturers as early as the middle of next year.

Samsung, on the other hand, will supply its own flexible displays to OPPO and Xiaomi, two of China’s biggest brands. It says samples have already been sent to both manufacturers.

Digitimes Research reports it has discovered that most of the smartphones with a foldable screen have an in-folding display. This is said to be easier to make than one that folds outwards. However, issues like dust collection within the folds and the strength are still issues that need to be dealt with.

READ MORE: Samsung Q900R 8K QLED TV lineup announced, goes on sale next month

The research firm also reports that the next generation of flexible displays are those with a curvature radius of less than 1.0R. So far, Samsung Display has been able to achieve that and has begun building prototype smartphones with this new display.

(Sources: 1, 2|Via: 1, 2)

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Samsung Display has announced a new flexible OLED panel that is unbreakable. The panel has been certified by Underwriters Laboratories, a testing company for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor.

The flexible display is said to be developed with an unbreakable substrate and covered with a window that is securely adhered to it. In the case of the unbreakable panel, that window is fortified plastic, unlike most modern displays that are covered with glass.

Hojung Kim who is the GM of Communications at Samsung Display said: “The fortified plastic window is especially suitable for portable electronic devices not only because of its unbreakable characteristics but also because of its lightweight, transmissivity, and hardness, which are all very similar to glass,”.

From the above statement, one shouldn’t be able to tell it is not glass and it should also offer the same scratch resistivity provided by other glass coverings.

The display was put through a series of tests such as 26 successive drop tests from a height of 1.2 meters (almost 4ft) and temperature tests at 71° and -32°. The display is also said to have survived a 1.8 meters drop test.

There is no info as to when we should expect the display to start showing up in devices but seeing as Samsung Display is a  huge moneymaker for the electronics giant, we may see it appear in devices next year.

READ MORE: Samsung will unveil its Smart Speaker called Magbee at IFA 2018

Samsung says it won’t only be used for smartphones but also display consoles for vehicles, mobile military devices, portable consoles and educational tablet PCs.

(Source, Via)

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A strong patent portfolio is an integral part of a business and in the mobile industry, Samsung is one of the manufacturers with the most patents. A new patent filed by the Korean giant has surfaced online and it shows a phone with a display that stretches and folds to the back.

The patent was filed at the WIPO in March before it was published earlier this month. According to the patent description, the phone has a flexible display that stretches to the top and then folds back to cover the upper part of the phone’s rear. This design gives the phone a tri-bezel-less appearance as well as a dual-display look. It also has just a single camera and it is at the back.

Images in the patent show that the “rear display” can act as a viewfinder when taking selfies. If you want to take a regular picture, the front part acts as the viewfinder but the rear also shows the focus object in the viewfinder. In a separate picture, we see the rear display show something else when using the front as the viewfinder, in this case, a bird which we believe is to hold the attention of the child whose photo is taken.

While there doesn’t seem to be a dedicated shutter button for taking a selfie using the rear display, the user can simply tap on the main screen. Another option we think can be adopted and which is already in use now is to set the volume control as a shutter button.

READ MORE: Samsung Galaxy Watch, the rebranded Gear S4 will launch on August 9

Another cool feature of the phone is that the part of the display that folds can serve as media control buttons and also display notifications.

The concept is interesting but it remains to be seen if it will launch as a real product.

(Source, Via)

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According to Korean industry reports, LG Display is supplying flexible OLED panels to Huawei for the first time ever. The displays supplied by the Korean giant are the ones of the new Mate RS flagship, which is actually the most powerful, innovative and expensive smartphone ever released by Huawei. It is a sort of crossover between the P20 Pro and the Mate 10 Pro, and its aesthetics have been realized in cooperation with Porsche Design. The panel supplied by LG Display is a curved edge-to-edge display with a size of 6 inches.

Unlike the P20 Pro, it does not have a notch and it shows images at a Quad HD+ resolution of 1440 x 2880 pixels, with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The flexible OLED display of Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design also features an in-screen fingerprint scanner just like the Vivo X20 Plus UD, thanks to the new chip unveiled by Synaptics. Even though there is an in-display fingerprint reader, the phone still sports an additional back-mounted fingerprint reader. The device has been launched with a starting price tag of about $2000 and it sports an octa-core Kirin 970 chipset, 6 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of internal storage depending on the variant.

It even sports the same triple camera setup that you can find on the P20 Pro. The triple camera is composed of a 40 MP sensor with a f/1.8 aperture and OIS, a secondary sensor with a resolution of 20 MP (f/1.6) and a third 8 MP sensor (f/2.4). Currently, LG Display also supplies panels to LG Electronics and Xiaomi, while the OLED panel of the Apple iPhone X is supplied by Samsung. LG is expected to supply more OLED panels to Huawei in the future, even though more than 95 percent of the mobile OLED market is currently owned by Samsung. Huawei is actually the third smartphone brand in the world.

(Source)

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Foldable phones could be the future of the smartphones market. Given that smartphones are actually replacing PCs for several functions, people are always in need of bigger displays in order to make it comfortable to surf the web, watch videos and more. After Samsung and its alleged Galaxy X, even Huawei has filed a patent for a phone with a foldable display. The patent has been filed on September 19, 2017, but it has just been revealed on WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) website.

The Huawei foldable phone is way different from ZTE Axon M. It does not feature two separate displays, but one single display which can be folded. The mechanism is similar to the one of the Microsoft Surface Book. Thanks to this mechanism, the smartphone will be able to transform into a tablet while it is unfolded. While folded, it should obviously have the same dimensions as a normal smartphone. The patent does not show how the device will work while it is folded, so we still do not know if it will have an external display or just some indicators to show important info such as time, battery charge, and notifications.

RELATED: Huawei Honor 10 Leaked Images Show Notched Design

A folding panel like that implies the presence of flexible glass or another material which does not break. At the moment, we do not know if and when this Huawei device will hit the shelves. It may even remain just a patent and we may be very far from the release of the first smartphone with a foldable display. According to recent declarations from Qualcomm, Samsung Galaxy X (the first phone with a foldable display by Samsung) will not see the light of day soon, and, due to difficulties encountered at realizing its foldable display, we may need to wait some years for its release.

(Source)

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Samsung has been working on a foldable smartphone for years now. Last year, there were rumors it would eventually launch a foldable smartphone but it didn’t. A new patent granted to the Korean giant shows off a new design and may also provide some info as to what is going on at Samsung.

It appears there are issues with the current design of foldable phones with a flexible display. According to the patent description, when the radius of curvature of the flexible display is too small, the display may get damaged. This damage may occur both in an unfolded state (due to tensile force) or folded state (compressive force).

To avoid that, Samsung has come up with a structure that supports the display where it curves. This structure according to the diagrams in the patent is a hinge system which prevents damage from compressive or tensile force. The hinge system helps keep the radius of curvature at a set value, thereby preventing the display from damage.

The patent further explains that the hinge system also allows the foldable device to be bent to various angles. So rather than two main positions – completely folded and completely unfolded, the device can be partially folded or unfolded to a desired angle.

Some of the images of the hinge system look familiar. One is shown to look like what Lenovo used for the Yoga Book while another looks like the hinge system of the Microsoft Surface Book.

READ MORE: Leaked Samsung Patent Sketch Tips Galaxy Note 9 To Pack An Under-display Fingerprint Scanner

Samsung is reported to have showcased two foldable smartphones to a few people at a private meeting at CES 2018. One of them is said to have a fold-in design and the other folds out. Unconfirmed reports say Samsung may launch the device in November, 2018.

(Source)

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Last year, ZTE announced the Axon M, its first foldable smartphone. Although the phone is foldable, the screen technically isn’t as the Axon M uses two displays that are connected via a hinge. A new leak that surfaced online shows OPPO has patented its own foldable smartphone but one that uses a foldable display.

The patent shows sketches of the phone which uses a single flexible display. The back of the device where the fold occurs has a different texture from the rest of the body. On one side, we can make out a vertically arranged dual camera system and on the other side is a cut-out with the same shape as the camera housing. Our guess is that the camera fits into that groove when the phone is folded.

The front is where the magic happens. When the phone is stretched out, you get a single large display unlike ZTE’s Axon M where there is a black bar in the middle that is sure to distract you when using the phone in “Extended Mode”.

When folded, the device looks like a phone with a one-sided curved display irrespective of the side you are using. OPPO is not gunning for thin bezels here, so the aspect ratio when the phone is folded appears to be the traditional 16:9. In the folded mode, the front facing camera and sensors are on the left side of the top bezel while the earpiece is on the right side of the top bezel.

Other images provided in the patent shows that the phone has a uniform thickness when laid out flat unlike the Axon M which has one side thicker than the other.

READ MORE: OPPO Will Be Among The First Manufacturers To Release A 5G Smartphone: CEO

There is no info as to when OPPO will release its foldable phone but it is interesting to see that the manufacturer has plans for one. It also hints  at a possible OnePlus phone with such a design since both brands are sister companies.

(Source)

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The US Patent & Trademark Office has published an application filed by Apple for a smartphone with foldable display. This news is in line with the previous reports which suggested that Apple is working with LG for a flexible display iPhone.

Apple is one of the several companies which have partnered with LG for display technology. The US-based technology giant is also reported to be planning to make an investment LG‘s plant for production of a foldable display.

The patent describes a smartphone display that can be “opened and closed like a book”. The patent application filed by the company covers all the bases, referencing LCD, OLED and microLED. It reads:

Display may include an array of display pixels formed from liquid crystal display (LCD) components, an array of electrophoretic display pixels, an array of organic light-emitting diode display pixels, an array of pixels formed from crystalline semiconductor light-emitting diode dies (sometimes referred to as micro-LEDs), an array of electrowetting display pixels, or display pixels based on other display technologies.

Apple has mentioned in the application that the flexible screen may have a flexible screen layer, a cover layer, a touch sensor interposed between the flexible screen layer and the cover layer, a support layer, and a polarizer layer.

The iPhone with a foldable display is expected to be unveiled in the year 2021. By that time, the company may have transitioned to microLED screens. Along with all the benefits of OLED, it further boosting brightness, saturation and power efficiency. Interestingly, Apple was recently reported to be working with TSMC on some of the technologies needed to use microLED panels.

However, there is a possibility that we won’t see Apple’s iPhone with a foldable display as not everything that gets patented goes into the production. While this doesn’t confirm that a foldable iPhone is on its way, it shows that Apple is atleast considered it.

Read More: Support Page For Foldable Samsung Galaxy X Is Now Live

While the foldable display iPhone is years away, if it’s ever coming, Samsung is gearing up to launch its foldable smartphone next year. It is expected to come with an “in-folding” design which would see the display fold inwards.

(Source)

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Do you remember the Samsung Galaxy Round released in 2013? What about the LG G Flex and LG G Flex 2? What these three phones have in common is that they all launched with a flexible curved display. News has it that Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Doogee will be launching a similar device in the near future.

Remember the Galaxy Round and LG Flexes? Well next year Doogee will try its hand at a curved screen device, with 18.5:9 aspect ratio, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB storage. pic.twitter.com/NFD6TaYloX

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) November 15, 2017

The info about Doogee’s upcoming smartphone was revealed on Twitter by Evan Blass (@evleaks). In his tweet, he said the unnamed Doogee phone will launch next year.

However, the device won’t stop at a curved display. It will also have an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. There is no word on the chipset of choice, camera configuration, and battery capacity. One can only hope the rest of the specifications are equally impressive.

READ MORE: Doogee BL5000 Review – It’s All About Fancy Looks

Evan Blass also provided images of a flexible display made by Doogee. In the photos, we can see the display is bent forward and backward to show how flexible it is.

(Source)

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LG has today announced that it has manufactured a mammoth display that is not just large but also flexible and transparent. The LG display is touted to be the world’s first flexible transparent display standing at a tall 77 inches. On a lighter note, this display is reportedly taller than Tom Cruise who Google says is 5 feet 7 inches, or 170 centimetres tall. Here’s how that’s possible, the display is 77 inches when measured diagonally and has an aspect ratio of 16:9. This gives the display’s height as 170.5 centimetres, just a tad taller than Cruise, but not if Cruise wears shoes.

Read More: LG Will Return to OLED Displays This Year Starting With The LG V30

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Rumors were rife last month that tech giant Samsung is planning to release a foldable smartphone in the third or fourth quarter of this year. That may not be the case after all if the latest rumor is anything to go by.

A recent rumor says the launch may not take place next year, rather the phone will only enter trial production in Q4 2017.  According to the report citing sources within the Taiwanese handset supply chain, the tech giant plans to begin a minor production of a few quantity of the device in the four quarter of this year, sort of test running the production process. Mass production of the Samsung foldable device will commence in H2 2018.  The source cited technical issues involving the production process for the delay. Specifically, the reliability of the Polyimide based (PI) plastic cover, a key component in the production of the foldable smartphone.

Mass production of the Samsung foldable device will commence in H2 2018.  The source cited technical issues involving the production process for the delay. Specifically, the reliability of the Polyimide based (PI) plastic cover, a key component in the production of the foldable smartphone. Since the phone uses a foldable display, the plastic cover will play a big role in the ability of the phone to withstand wear and tear.

Read More: Samsung’s First Foldable Display Smartphone Looks Beautiful In Concept Renders

The foldable phone may likely come as a 7-incher and would fold outward in such a way that you probably won’t have to unfold it in order to view notifications and other minor stuff that can be carried out without flipping it open. So, if you are looking forward to the Samsung foldable smartphone or tablet at MWC 2017, it’s better to take your mind off the thought of that happening.

(source)

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Flexible display is turning to be the possible future of mobile displays considering the rate at which smartphone manufactures are developing concepts  with flexible displays. Samsung, Xiaomi, LG, Lenovo, OPPO and of late Meizu has joined the train.

A patent filing made back in August by Meizu has just been spotted online it reveals a device with flexible, foldable display. The patent was filed precisely on August 28 in China with the title “Flexible Display Device with an application number 201610634752.2. From the attached description, we could gather that the device is one with folding display with appearance similar to clam-shell flip phones. The outside of the device is covered by the flexible display in this case.

Recall that Samsung filed a patient for a somewhat similar foldable phone with flexible display. The only difference between this and Samsung’s own is that the display on this one stays outside while Samsung’s stays inside when the flip is covered. It is not clear, though, what becomes of this patent filing as Meizu has not revealed anything about the patent since then.

Read More: Spy Photos of New Meizu M1611 Phone Released

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 was recently disclosed to be coming with a flexible curved display said to be supplied by LG, even though the flexible display would still be under the rigid glass touchscreen. In addition, Vivo XPlay and Huawei Mate S2 are also rumored by the same source as featuring similar curved flexible display. Perhaps we would be seeing more and more devices with flexible, curved displays in the near future.

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A couple of renders and a video clip of what is said to be a working Xiaomi flexible display was leaked online not long ago. It has now emerged  that indeed the Xiaomi Mi Note 2 would feature a version using the flexible display technology. But as should be experted it takes a huge toll on the price tag which is said to be 4,000 Yuan (around $595).

This disclosure was made in a post by a user on Weibo who also revealed that the Mi Note 2 would be released on October 25. In addition, the Weibo user alleged that the Mi Note 2’s curved display would be supplied by Samsung and LG and the device would have a 5.7-inch screen. The higher version is said to sport a double ceramic glass body. The source also revealed the existence of a flat screen version since the version with flexible glass would take more time to produce, so perhaps be out of stock most times. According to the rumor, the flat screen version would cost less, coming in at 3000 Yuan ($446).

As with most Weibo posts, we’ll take this with a pinch of salt until Xiaomi comes out to confirm it. Although some of the specs and details leaked align with previous leaks and rumors, like the 5.7-inch display and October launch date but previous rumors including that from Pan Jiutang wasn’t specific on an exact date in October.

Read More: Key Specs & User-Generated Mi Note 2 Render Surface Online

The Xiaomi Mi Note 2 is rumored to feature two versions, one with the flagship Snapdragon 821 processor and 8GB of RAM said to be a Pro version, although the RAM may likely be 6GB, and there is said to be another version with a Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM. Both versions are expected to come with 5.7-inch 2K AMOLED curved displays with Force Touch. The Mi Note 2 Pro is also likely to have a battery capacity of 3600mAh with fast charge support.

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We brought you amazing shots of Xiaomi’s bendable concept phone with flexible displays yesterday and it indeed the news was received with mixed feelings. While some where enthusiastic about the prospect of having such, a few others were pessimistic about it. Well, the bendable phone is still in the front burner and today a video clip of the purported to be the Xiaomi concept phone has been leaked online. This no doubt shows it is real and not some Photoshopped images we saw yesterday.

The 30 seconds video clip shows the device running Xiaomi’s latest MIUI 8 while it is being operated by a user. It is obvious that the screen can be used while it is flat and also operated while it is bent and some speculate that the expected Mi Note 2 might use this display.

Read More: Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Will Be Costly Says Analyst, Get Ready For A $600 Flagship

We cannot be so sure about that but it sounds like a nice prospect, after all, it is just the display that would be flexible at least offering some level of protection against cracks. We’d wait to see how that pans out when the Mi Note 2 is released. Even if it ends up not featuring on the Mi Note 2, we’re sure Xiaomi in its innovative nature would come up with something amazing soon. You can watch the video from down below.

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Seems bendable smartphones are the future, considering the rate at which leaked renders of concept phones with flexible displays are being unveiled. Just recently, we got wind that Samsung had filed a patent for a foldable smartphone, not forgetting that Lenovo had teased a flexible smartphone just before the IFA Berlin 2016. We were even looking forward to the launch of the Lenovo flexible phone at IFA but that didn’t happen. OPPO had also in the past got into the fray of concept phones with flexible display. Now, what is likely a concept phone said to be developed by Xiaomi has leaked, showing the flexible display that bends in all direction.

The Xiaomi concept phone was leaked on Baidu recently and was pictured in two separate renders. The phone uses flexible screen that can be bent upwards, downward, as well as to the left and right. The images don’t show sign of a Photoshopped render so may perhaps be authentic. Even at that, we cannot vouch for its authenticity and it is very unlikely that we would be seeing this device sometime soon. The problem with bendable display has always been its difficulty to mass produce and the cost effectiveness of the project. For now, we would just be content with the curved displays we have and would rather see phones with less bezels.

Read More: Sharp Unveils IGZO Display That Sports Over 1,000ppi

However, the display looks stunning with a ultra high color output which is also very sharp and we hope the expected Mi Note 2 would boast of such display quality even though it isn’t expected with a flexible display.

The post Xiaomi Concept phone with Flexible Display Leaks in Live Renders appeared first on Gizmochina.

A few months ago, Lenovo showed off a concept tablet and phone with flexible displays at their Lenovo Tech World event which was held in San Francisco. It seems the device is going out of concept and will see an official launch following a new video release.

The video which is released ahead of the IFA Berlin 2016 conference is based on the theme “Different For the Sake of Better”. The video shows a couple of devices such as what appears to be a new Lenovo Yoga, a new type of keyboard, and most importantly, a phone with a flexible display and a foldable tablet.

Samsung and LG are two other big names in the flexible phones race. Samsung says they plan on bringing flexible phones to the market come 2017 with a possibility of showing up early next year during Mobile World Congress.

LG on the other hand already has 2 bendable phones: the G Flex and G Flex 2, but still doesn’t plan to get outdone by its Korean brother. So they are also preparing to launch phones with foldable displays next year.

RELATED: Curved Panel From Xiaomi Mi Note 2 Leaked

If Lenovo does launch their flexible phone this year, they’ll officially be the first company to do so. The thing about flexible phones isn’t the display itself but other components which are not easily bendable such as the battery.

August 31 is two weeks from now and we are really excited to see Lenovo’s new phone.

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Samsung Electronic is reportedly get a new trademark for the next Samsung smartphone, those name are “galaxy Round”, which is expected to be used for their upcoming flagship handset that has a curved display panel design.

The new Samsung device will officially be introduced as soon as possible this week,  and also planned to be included in the market with the  Galaxy Round.

The  United States Patent and Trademark Office reportedly  has given permission to use the trade mark last  week. The  upcoming Samsung latest Galaxy lineup is reportedly going to  come with 5.7 -inch display panel. Meanwhile, according  to Reuters, Samsung Galaxy Round has the curvature display panel in both sides, this phone prptotype has been show at CES 2013 few months ago.

The new Galaxy Round will running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system and packs with 8 megapixel camera and powered by Quad Core processor, support for 2GB of RAM and has S Pen stylus for handwriting and touch the screen.

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