A
foldable device refers to a type of technology that can be bent or folded to change its shape or size. It allows the device to be both portable and easily transformable to suit different purposes or improve convenience.
Full definition
There is no shortage of patents
for foldable device, be it a phone that transforms into a tablet (or vice versa) or a phone that unfolds into an even longer phone.
It's very hard to
get foldable devices right, but if the whole device is foldable then it can be done.
Apple also explains in the patent that such curved edges may be used
on foldable devices which would fold right along the edges to increase or decrease the overall size of the device.
Koh Dong Jin, the CEO of Samsung mobile department, has expressed this September that Samsung is planning to launch
foldable device in 2018 and Samsung has applied some patents in relative fields.
This week on the Windows Central Podcast: We talk Windows on ARM,
foldable device patents, SwiftKey sucking, and more!
While 2017 has been the year of bezel-less phones, tech giants including Huawei, Samsung and Microsoft are planning to launch
new foldable devices next year.
This week, Daniel Rubino and Zac Bowden talk about the official launch of the Fall Creators Update and how that's going, along with Microsoft's secret
prototype foldable device that may or may not be coming next year, and the unveiling of the Surface Book 2!
This all might be in preparation for Microsoft's Andromeda
foldable device which is expected to be released by the end of 2018.
Not to mention both Apple and Samsung (and probably more) are experimenting with
foldable devices as well.
More so than any
other foldable device related leak, the Galaxy X actually looks like a phone I might want.
A report stemming from The Verge indicates Samsung aims to
bring foldable devices to the consumer market by 2019.
A recent report said, that Samsung plans to test the waters with a limited launch in 2017, and see if customers really
want foldable devices.
Apparently, online publications are regarding the concept video as a leak showing how Samsung's
upcoming foldable device can be used as a normal 5 - inch phone and turn it into an 8 - inch tablet when unfolded.
After (way too) many years of waiting, filled with frustrating pre-production hurdles, endless R&D work, the occasional mouth - watering demonstration and more delays than we care to count, a major smartphone manufacturer could finally be ready to announce the world's first
commercial foldable device.
Rumors suggest that Andromeda and Polaris would be the first composers that will be showcased in the dual -
screened foldable device which will be announced this year.
Bloomberg's report from 2016 claimed that Samsung was working on two types
of foldable devices: one that folds inwards like a clamshell phone, and another that folds out to turn into a 7 - inch tablet.
Both Asahi Glass and Schott make display glass — Dragontrail and Xensation — that score almost as well as Gorilla on strength tests, and it's rumored that Asahi will show off a flexible, 0.07 - mm - thick glass — perhaps
for foldable devices — this summer.
This week on the Windows Central Podcast: We talk Microsoft's
prototype foldable device, Surface Book 2 unveiling, the Fall Creators Update launch and more!
Lenovo recently demonstrated two
new foldable device prototypes that use flexible OLED displays.
Samsung is the first to create the idea of
foldable devices started testing this technology since 2011 and is still until now, it who will started the revolution of foldable devices Very funny when you see the site put apple first flollowed by Microsoft, Samsung the last!
Qualcomm has a patent for
a foldable device with 3 screens that changes its functionality based on how the screens are aligned with each other.
This foldable device is purportedly undergoing testing with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 CPU, with specs that include 3 GB of RAM and a microSD slot.
In 2016, Apple was awarded a patent for
a foldable device.
Samsung has reportedly been working on
a foldable device for a while, and rumors suggest it may be released to the public this year.
It has already incorporated elements of the technology in its curved Galaxy Edge smartphones, and one industry analyst described Samsung's goal of releasing
a foldable device next year as «quite realistic.»
In fact, the prototypical phone might well pave the way for
foldable devices to come.
LG follows as we hear that there might be
a foldable device in the works.
While it no longer comes as a surprise that the Galaxy X is depicted as
a foldable device that has a unique hinge in the middle, the leaked sketches appear to be getting attention for a different reason.
Yet
another foldable device patent appears online from Microsoft, giving us a refreshed look at what Microsoft might be cooking up internally.
Mr. Koh went on to say that user experience (UX) was the «biggest obstacle» in commercializing
the foldable device, and added that the company was «aggressively looking» to overcome the issue.
A new patent filed by the company could provide the answer:
a foldable device that turns into a tablet.
Foldable devices were one of the biggest themes of CES this year.
ZTE recently released the Axon M and we know that Samsung is working on
a foldable device too.
The Chinese original equipment manufacturer is still rumored to launch
its foldable device later this month, with sources previously claiming that the company's October 17th event in New York City will be used -LSB-...]
It is also reported that Samsung will demonstrate
their foldable device — Samsung Galaxy X1 and X1 Plus in MWC — Mobile World Congress.
After many years of reports that Samsung is working on
a foldable device, it appears that Apple's bendable iPhone / iPad could be here within the next two years.
In an interview to CNET, Koh said that the company is making progress on
the foldable device, but he needs «complete confidence that we're delivering the best user experience when we're launching a new category».
Originally announced in mid-October, the Axon M is ZTE's first attempt at making
a foldable device designed in a manner reminiscent of the 2011 Kyocera Echo and sporting specs that put it in the upper mid-range segment of the smartphone market.
While there is no telling if or when Huawei ultimately decides to produce
their foldable device, it's quite clear that the company is experimenting with the design, and given how much cash it has on hand, it's quite likely that Huawei could produce a commercial product before Lenovo, or even perhaps Samsung and LG.