Earlier today (17th January 2022), a known tipster on Weibo (a Chinese microblogging website) revealed interesting information regarding the next generation of foldable smartphone from Xiaomi. Apparently, the company has already started work on this device, which will feature a clamshell folding design.

Back in 2021, the Chinese tech giant had released its first ever foldable handset, which was the MIX Fold. It featured a vertical hinge, which meant that it folded horizontally similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3. Furthermore, it launched with a price tag of 9,999 Yuan (roughly 1,575 US Dollars), which almost as expensive as its Samsung counterpart. Although, the device was still one of the more affordable foldable devices in the market.

Now, known tipster Digital Chat Station has revealed that the company is working on a new foldable phone, which features a vertically folding horizontal display. However, its most notable aspect would be its price, as the tipster claims that the company might launch it closer to a mainstream flagship price. This would be a big deal considering, the cheapest foldable phone still costs over 1,000 US Dollars. We had previously even reported on a Xiaomi patent that showcased such a vertically folding phone.

In the social media post, the tipster also revealed one key details regarding the upcoming Xiaomi foldable phone. Reportedly, this device will feature a FHD+ resolution and 120Hz high refresh rate. Under the hood, the phone will apparently houses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen series processor. Keep in mind that this is still just an unconfirmed report so take it with a pinch of salt for now and stay tuned for more updates.

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Xiaomi had showcased a foldable smartphone right after the Galaxy Fold was launched but since then, there have been no words about a foldable phone. Several patent filings have suggested that the company has got different foldable designs in the works. A couple of such filings even point to the existence of a Motorola Razr-like foldable design. Smartphone concept designer Waqar Khan has now teamed up with tech blog WindowsUnited to create a render of what Xiaomi’s clamshell foldable smartphone may look like.

As can be seen in the images, the render seems to be based on the patented design Xiaomi secured in November 2019. The device adopts a small display on the outside which will likely display time and a perhaps notifications. The inner display works like a regular smartphone when opened but the difference is that you can fold it to assume a smaller form factor when not in us. This makes it easy to carry and protects the flexible OLED screen.

There is a high degree of certainty that Xiaomi will indeed launch device utilising this clamshell design. ZDNet Korea had earlier reported, citing electronics component industry insiders, that Xiaomi has placed orders for a clamshell-type flexible OLED display from Samsung. The report also disclosed that a similar order has been placed with LG Display. Xiaomi is said to have gone for the display manufactured by Samsung due to the fact that the foldable panels currently produced by BOE and CSOT are of a lower quality than those produced by Samsung Display.

Xiaomi is expected to commence mass production of its clamshell foldable phone in the second half of 2020. Specs details are still sketchy as of this moment.

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The post This is what Xiaomi’s clamshell foldable phone may look like appeared first on Gizmochina.