Foldables are thought to be the next big thing in the world of smartphones. Samsung is the leading player set to launch its third commercially available product later this year. But there are other companies who have been patenting designs for years. ZTE is one of them and its new trifold foldable design patent has been recently unearthed by PriceBaba.

1 of 6

ZTE is yet to launch a commercial foldable smartphone like Samsung and Huawei. But it has been patenting designs like any other smartphone company out there.

The Chinese telecom company has now patented a design for a trifold foldable smartphone. There’s not a single device with such design int he market now. All the foldable handsets available in the market fold in one direction either inward or outward.

TCL showcased a prototype with a similar trifold design last October. But this handset is yet to hit the market. Also, since the patent by ZTE is an unfinished design without proper details, we don’t expect the company to soon deliver a finished product anytime soon.

Companies patent a lot of things but not everything comes into fruition. Xiaomi too showcased its foldable smartphone in a video more than a year ago. But we haven’t heard anything about that product since then. Instead, we got to see the Mi Mix Alpha concept smartphone, which is still yet to go on limited sale in China as the company announced at the launch.

UP NEXT: ZTE Axon 11 SE will be the first 5G phone to support all four carriers in China, launches on June 1

(source)

The post ZTE patents design for a trifold foldable smartphone appeared first on Gizmochina.