It looks like there’s a new foldable phone contender. Well, at least as far as patents go after a new patent was published by the CNIPA for a Xiaomi folding phone that was submitted late last year.
Based on the drawings in the patent which was enhanced by LetsGoDigital, the foldable phone looks to have a bar on one side of the phone from which the display folds out. The bar is where you can find four cameras and the charging port at the bottom. There doesn’t seem to be a selfie camera though, so the four cameras will be used for all kinds of photography.
The display itself has very minimal bezels and wraps around the front and back when folded. When opened, the display has a more tablet-like surface.
Currently, we’ve only seen foldable devices from Huawei and Samsung with the Mate XS and Galaxy Fold, respectively. Both come with quite the price tag. Xiaomi is known for being more affordable than both Huawei and Samsung and it would shake up the foldable phone market if Xiaomi could release their foldable phone for a much lower price.
Xiaomi teased a double-folding smartphone early last year in the hands of the company co-founder, Lin Bin. It’s hard to tell if the company still has that device in the bag but what we can tell is that the company is looking to join the foldable phone market.
It is uncertain whether or not we’ll see a Xiaomi folding phone anytime soon but it is exciting to see another contender in this space. It is exciting to see how the different companies approach the challenge that is a foldable device.
Ram Ronquillo eats puns for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
