vivo patents a flip phone with an outward folding screen

Smartphone companies are experimenting with a number of different solutions as we enter the era of foldable devices. The latest clue as to what the future holds comes from a vivo patent for a design that looks like a reverse Motorola StarTAC - an outward hinge at the bottom and display extending to the back panel.

The listing has appeared at CNIPA (Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration) with sketches from all sides, revealing vivo even plans to put five cameras (one of them with a periscope lens) on the back in an X formation on a square island. There’s also room for the LED flash that is a tiny strip on the right side - just like the vivo X50 Pro, for example.

Vivo's foldable smartphone patent

Patenting this unusual design for a foldable device does not mean vivo is close to releasing a commercial-ready solution. Smartphone companies experiment with a number of different designs with only a fraction of them making it to store shelves. However, it is good to see mobile companies have no shortage of cool ideas as we move past the increasingly boring touchscreen bars.

Source (in Chinese) | Via (in Dutch)