The idea of foldable phones was a novel one, but it looks like it won’t be a mainstream thing any time soon. Samsung and Huawei have both decided to delay the launch of their own folding devices. That said, the latter was just granted a patent for what may be a successor to the Mate X, the company’s current foldable phone.
LetsGoDigital reports that this new patent depicts a phone that folds in two sections rather than just one. The foldable display wraps around the chassis, which houses what looks to be the sole USB-C port, as well as the rest of the phone components. Also, the patent describes three variants, with minor differences based on the basic design.
The first of these variations will presumably be the most advanced, with no visible front camera or buttons. The foldable display wraps around the entirety of the chassis in the middle, leaving only the top and bottom sides exposed. It’s unclear if this phone will not have a front-facing camera or have one under the display itself. While not mainstream tech just yet, a couple of Chinese brands have already demonstrated that the latter is possible.
The second variant comes with a protrusion at the top of the chassis. This protrusion is where the front-facing camera and other sensors can be found. The final variant adds a protrusion at the bottom, where you’ll find what is presumably the home button for the device.
All that being said, we shouldn’t be holding our breaths for the subject of this patent to materialise any time soon. After all, the Huawei Mate X itself has yet to be officially launched. Then there’s the situation with the US as well.
(Source: LetsGoDigital via BGR)
