It looks like the next big thing for smartphones are devices with foldable displays. Well, at least when it comes to filing patents, that is. We’ve seen brands like Samsung and LG file their own versions of their visions for foldable displays and rumor is that Huawei will also do the same. Now, we’re seeing Motorola join the “fight” as well as they submitted a patent in May of last year and it has now been published in the US Patent and Trademark Office database.
According to the patent filed by Motorola, they want to use a technology that holds two parts of an electronic device through hinges, similar to how most laptops work. But what makes this different is that you actually get a flexible display that will be placed over the entire surface. It will cover both parts and even continues through the hinge, as per the illustration. The display will deform when one part moves relative to the other part.
The CEO of Lenovo, which owns Motorola, previously said that the foldable phone might very well be in their future and that we can expect more innovation design-wise with their Razr line. So we might probably see that their first foldable phone will be launched with the Razr branding.
We have to remember though that filing a patent doesn’t necessarily mean that the actual thing will be produced and become available in the market. But it’s still interesting to see where the minds of these OEMs are at and what their seeming intentions are when it comes to possible future products.
The next year or so will probably see the various OEMs race to become the first one to release a smartphone with a foldable display. Let’s see who will win this race and if the market will actually bite.
VIA: Mobielkopen
