Oppo Just Patented A Foldable Smartphone With A Single Display & A Dual Camera Setup
Last year, ZTE announced the Axon M, its first foldable smartphone. Although the phone is foldable, the screen technically isn't as the Axon M uses two displays that are connected via a hinge. There have also been reports suggesting that Samsung plans to mass produce foldable or flexible displays by September and maybe even assemble a device by 2019.
As per a recent report, Oppo has recently patented a new smartphone design, which reveals the possibility of a foldable phone. It has an outward hinge that, once unfolded, will act as a part of the screen. On further analyzing the images, it looks like Oppo has envisioned this device like a book and the device folds inwards and it kind of looks like a phone with a one-sided curved display.
On one side, we can make out a vertically arranged dual camera system and on the other side is a cut-out with the same shape as the camera housing. We also noticed a dual camera setup on the rear when it is in the unfolded mode. As per the patent, when folded, one of the sides can be used for making calls, while the other can be used for taking selfies with the front camera and what appears to be an LED flash.
Also to be noted are the top and bottom bezels seen in the patent illustrations, which are quite noticeable. The side bezels, however, look thin and one of them will be literally non-existent when the phone is folded in its standard form.
It's also worth mentioning that unlike ZTE Axon M, there seems to be no visible gap or crevice at the point of folding in Oppo's patented design since the display is a single large foldable unit.
© ZTE Axon M, Picture by ZTE
Samsungs Koh Dong-jin also confirmed in September last year that Samsung is going to launch a foldable smartphone in the first half of 2018. No further information was provided about the device at that time but it did reveal that the company was developing this product in the pipeline and that it would launch eventually.
These patent images from Oppo do look very interesting but are only for illustration purposes. It will be interesting to see whether Oppo comes up with such a device in the future. The developments in display technology hint that such devices are not very far away. Experts, however, believe that it will take more time before the technology is fully perfected.
Source:ChinaMobile
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