Xiaomi has patented a new clamshell-style folding phone, and it’s a doozy, with dual selfie cameras and a unique folding design.
As TigerMobiles posted, Xiaomi has published a new patent with the Chinese trademark office, CNIPA. The patent shows a clamshell type phone that folds backwards and lengthwise, so the top of the screen folds over to the back of the device.
Most interestingly, the design doesn’t appear to fold in half. Rather, the folding crease is towards the top of the device, so that only a small part of the display actually moves. The dual hole-punch selfie camera setup, then, becomes the rear camera setup as well.
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Photos courtesy of TigerMobiles
Using one camera module both front and back isn’t a new idea (à la the underrated Asus Zenfone 6), but Xiaomi’s choice is an interesting one given that a device’s rear camera setup is usually superior to its selfie camera(s).
Given this interesting design, there are a number of possible benefits. With only one camera, this phone might boast more competitive pricing compared to its peers. Then again, a foldable phone is hardly likely to be affordable at all. But unlike other foldables, this ‘partial-fold’ design might only need a single battery, unlike the dual-cell hybrid design on the Galaxy Z Flip, for example.
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If released, this design could be the first foldable that doesn’t fold completely (or nearly) in half. In any case, it certainly does punctuate the fact that manufacturers so far are just scratching the surface of foldable possibilities.
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