Foldables are said to the future of smartphones. But apart from Samsung and Lenovo-owned Motorola, no other handset makers have released such devices yet. But they are reported to do so this year. Hence, we have been seeing multiple patents regarding foldable smartphones in the past few months like this new vivo one.

According to LetsGoDigital, Vivo Mobile Communications filed a design patent with the CNIPA (China National Intellectual Property Administration) at the end of August 2020. This patent got approved and published on February 12, 2021.

Going by the sketches, this vivo foldable smartphone design is unlike any other. Normally, foldable smartphones either fold out to become a tablet or they feature old-school clamshell. But this design patent by vivo is neither.

EDITOR’S PICK: Vivo V2055A appears on Google Play Console listing, might debut as iQOO Neo5 in mid-March

This foldable phone design by vivo sports a rather unusual long display panel that folds at the bottom. Hence, it looks like a normal handset in the folded state. However, in the unfolded mode, the screen is elongated and it looks weird.

Further, the back of the device houses a penta-camera setup, which also includes a periscope zoom unit and a unique LED flash module. Interestingly, the design only has a single physical key at the top (could be the power button) and there are no ports as well. Hence, this phone may charge wirelessly.

With that being said, the only benefit we can realize from this vivo foldable smartphone design patent is that it is slimmer than commercially available foldables in the market. Additionally, its screen can be useful for vloggers as a viewfinder for the five cameras.

Anyway, we don’t expect vivo to launch any handset with this design anytime soon.

RELATED:

• Apple to launch relatively affordable clamshell foldable iPhone in the future
• Stretchable display will be harder to develop than foldable or rollable panels
• Xiaomi patents a foldable smartphone solution to mitigate creases

The post vivo patents a foldable smartphone design with an elongated display appeared first on Gizmochina.

Last week, it was revealed that there will be a total of four foldable smartphones from OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi combined in the second half of 2021. It is worth noting that all these three brands are yet to debut their first foldable but they have patented various designs in the past few months. A new such patent by vivo has now emerged.

According to LetsGoDigital, Vivo Mobile Communication filed a design patent with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) in February 2020. Titled ‘Display panel and mobile terminal’, this patent got approved and published in October 2020. However, the publication seems to have found it only now and they even created 3D renders for visualization.

As per the documentation, this design features an inward folding screen that unfolds into a tablet. In other words, it is identical to Samsung Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Z Fold2. But it sports a unique hinge design with a silo for a stylus.

This silo is nothing but a gap at the folding point of the display panel. Hence, the included stylus is as long as the device and has a tip made of soft rubber material to avoid scratches on the screen. Further, It does not fall from the silo when placed inside as it remains attached magnetically. Also, the damaged part of the stylus can be replaced.

1 of 4

Apart from the above-mentioned details, the patent does not say much about this design because it is only about the foldable panel and stylus. That said, vivo may utilize some part of this design in one of its upcoming foldables, however, we cannot say that for sure as companies file a wide variety of patents every now and then.

UP NEXT: Vivo study reveals that smartphone usage has risen immensely in 2020, raises concerns over mental health

The post vivo patents a foldable smartphone design with stylus appeared first on Gizmochina.