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To Fold or Not to Fold – How Close Are We to Buying a Foldable Smartphone?

July 26, 2018

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Nowadays, manufacturers are constantly seeking ways to make their displays and touch screens lighter and one of the most sought-after goals is developing flexible screens. Important resources are being invested toward flexible and wearable electronics that can be bent, folded, or stretched while maintaining their performance under various deformations. Recent developments in the field show the race is heating up. Who will be the winner? Discover below the most recent breakthroughs and the plans for the near future.

The big boys are stretching their elbows

Samsung and other Android phone makers have been toying for years with the idea of launching a foldable smartphone. During several IT and telecommunications fairs bending screens were shown, but according to recent reports, Samsung will be the first company to bring this technology to the global market. Samsung Electronics is expected to start production of Galaxy X (the name is not officially confirmed) in November before its mass-market debut possibly in December or early next year. According to the same reports, the initial rollout wouldn’t be on a large scale, but would instead target more specific markets such as mobile gamers. In case of a successful response, Samsung plans a broader commercial debut in the second half of 2019. Kim Jang-yeol, head of research at Golden Bridge Investment, says the phone could reportedly cost as much as two million won at release (that converts to about $1,850) – which makes it even more expensive than the iPhone X.

Samsung now has some serious competition in the race for the first commercial ready-to-use foldable device, as Huawei’s Consumer Business President Jim Xu confirmed in an interview that a Huawei-branded foldable smartphone could be released by 2019. A foldable phone win represents for Huawei more than just a fresh frontier in the mobile industry. It represents the opportunity to beat out the world’s top players.

Experts believe we’re about to see a major shake-up in the design of Apple’s products, as the company is working on a foldable version of the iPhone that bends in the middle. “Our checks also suggest that Apple is working with suppliers on a foldable phone,” said Wamsi Mohan, an analyst at top Wall Street firm Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Apple hasn’t confirmed such a device, so this remains speculation for now.

LG has recently received a patent for an inward folding smartphone. The device shown in the patent looks like a large version of a regular smartphone that would fold vertically.

The latest company to join the foldable smartphone race is Motorola, as the company has been awarded a patent for a flexible smartphone display. Motorola’s patent shows a smartphone with an OLED display that folds in two places, Let’s Go Digital reports. The patent was granted by USPTO on June 14, 2018.

Theories and models of design. To fold or not to fold?

No one knows what the first foldable mobile phone will look like, but according to patents and simulations made by experts, some theories stand out.

In May, The U.S. Patent Office granted Samsung 180 patents covering a folding phone and a transparent phone display. One patent shows that Samsung’s first foldable smartphone will feature three OLED display panels: two that form a 7-inch screen when unfolded, and a single one on the rear of the device that allows for the phone to be used when folded. According to another patent, a massive 7.3-inch OLED screen will fold down forming a clamshell-like device. In order to bend the display, the smartphone may further include a grip sensor configured to sense a grip by a user’s hand.

Although OLED displays can be very flexible, frequent bending can cause permanent deformations at the crease. Motorola plans to solve this problem by using heat to fight off damage to the OLED display caused by folding and unfolding the display. The Motorola patent also uses movement to correct screen bend imperfections. According to the same patent, the phone should automatically bend slightly in an opposite direction when heating the display to correct creases and other damage at the phone’s hinge points. In June 2018, The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted LG a patent for a foldable smartphone. Discovered by Let’s Go Digital, the patent shows a device that looks like a large version of a regular smartphone that would fold vertically. The patent focuses on the hinge mechanism which moves apart as the device folds and could help prevent damage to the display. The patent also mentions that the phone would be held shut by magnets and that the display would turn on automatically when the hinge is open, according to the same report.

Return of the indestructible flip phone

While the ongoing race to release the world’s first truly foldable phone is extremely interesting for tech geeks and industry experts, nobody can really tell how the average user will receive these devices. For example, last year ZTE introduced the Axon M, a bulky device featuring two 5.2-inch displays connected by a hinge. Although the reviewers called it ‘a ridiculous dual-screen phone that has some promise’, it showed the world the direction the industry is heading.