Following the P20 launch, Huawei is now again back in the news with a foldable display. The company has patented a foldable smartphone that opens and closes like a book. The patent was filed with WIPO on September 19 last year and is only published today. The patent is titled “mobile terminal folding mechanism and mobile terminal.”
Going by the patent sketches, the design more or less resembles the Microsoft Surfaces’ hinge design but with a much smaller gap. The display is, however, a single panel, unlike the ZTE Axon M. When opened, the smartphone looks like a tablet and might come off as a smartphone when closed. By alternating the use of soft and hard components, the mechanism can be folded whenever you want without any problems and small gaps or holes in the design are prevented.
This is not the first time we are hearing about a foldable smartphone from Huawei. Back in October, Huawei speaking to CNET has mentioned that the company has a working sample of the phone but needs a better, flexible and a mechanical design and it still needs some more time to perfect the design before it launches. Will the company launch a smartphone with foldable a display this year? there’s no way to tell at this moment as companies file for patents that may or may not see the light of the day.