Folding Smartphone Revolution Demands Answers From ZTE, Oppo And New Samsung Galaxy X

Samsung’s years of prototyping and technical demonstrations may well result in a Galaxy smartphone that folds in half going on sale next year. ZTE's fold has two screens to make it work. Apple is using curved displays to drive the OLED display on the iPhone X as close to the edge of the chassis as possible. There are enough signs to suggest that the next trend in smartphone design will be curved and folding screen technology.

Which means that manufacturers will all have to answer a simple one word question when the products are demonstrated… why?

Oppo Patent Filing

Oppo's folding phone concept (patent filing image)

Above is an image from a recent patent application from Chinese manufacturer Oppo. It illustrates a different approach to a foldable and bendable smartphone. The top of the handset flips open up to lock against the rear, bringing to mind the lid of a cigarette box. I’m unsure how practical this actually is, but it would;t be the first time Oppo has allowed the top of a smartphone to rotate - the Oppo N1 had a single camera that would rotate to be the main rear camera or the forward facing selfie camera.

Perhaps the top section flips to allow a single camera to be pointing in either direction.

Two things are clear. The first is that companies such as Oppo are working hard on the technology and are patenting as many ideas as possible so that in the presumed rush of designs they will have skin in the game during any patent negotiations.

Secondly, and more importantly, the question of why someone needs a folding smartphone needs to be answered. Solutions like Oppo’s don’t offer a natural answer. The expected flip phone like Galaxy X from Samsung has the benefits of decreasing some dimensions for a more comfortable fit in your pocket, but will that be enough?

Samsung President of Mobile Communications Business DJ Koh unveils the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Samsung)

All the designs and ideas in the world can be rolled out, but the true test will be with consumers. That’s one reason I think Samsung will limit the Galaxy X to one or two regional markets, and manufacturers like Oppo will wait until some of the bigger players set market expectations.

There’s no point addressing the ‘how’ in public until you can answer the ‘why’.

Now read more about Samsung’s plan to launch the Galaxy X folding smartphone…

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Samsung’s years of prototyping and technical demonstrations may well result in a Galaxy smartphone that folds in half going on sale next year. ZTE's fold has two screens to make it work. Apple is using curved displays to drive the OLED display on the iPhone X as close to the edge of the chassis as possible. There are enough signs to suggest that the next trend in smartphone design will be curved and folding screen technology.

Which means that manufacturers will all have to answer a simple one word question when the products are demonstrated… why?

Oppo Patent Filing

Oppo's folding phone concept (patent filing image)

Above is an image from a recent patent application from Chinese manufacturer Oppo. It illustrates a different approach to a foldable and bendable smartphone. The top of the handset flips open up to lock against the rear, bringing to mind the lid of a cigarette box. I’m unsure how practical this actually is, but it would;t be the first time Oppo has allowed the top of a smartphone to rotate - the Oppo N1 had a single camera that would rotate to be the main rear camera or the forward facing selfie camera.

Perhaps the top section flips to allow a single camera to be pointing in either direction.

Two things are clear. The first is that companies such as Oppo are working hard on the technology and are patenting as many ideas as possible so that in the presumed rush of designs they will have skin in the game during any patent negotiations.

Secondly, and more importantly, the question of why someone needs a folding smartphone needs to be answered. Solutions like Oppo’s don’t offer a natural answer. The expected flip phone like Galaxy X from Samsung has the benefits of decreasing some dimensions for a more comfortable fit in your pocket, but will that be enough?

Samsung President of Mobile Communications Business DJ Koh unveils the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Samsung)

All the designs and ideas in the world can be rolled out, but the true test will be with consumers. That’s one reason I think Samsung will limit the Galaxy X to one or two regional markets, and manufacturers like Oppo will wait until some of the bigger players set market expectations.

There’s no point addressing the ‘how’ in public until you can answer the ‘why’.

Now read more about Samsung’s plan to launch the Galaxy X folding smartphone…

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2017/11/07/samsung-galaxys-oppo-folding-smartphone-patent-question/