Huawei is said to be developing a unique tri-fold screen smartphone.
Foldable smartphones are a prime example of cutting-edge engineering and design in phones. Over the past decade, we’ve seen smartphone brands unveil a range of foldable, rollable, expandable, and shrinking screen technologies, but there’s a big difference between demonstrating a great idea and making it a commercial reality.
Now, rumors are pointing toward what could be the next evolutionary stage of the foldable phone, with reports of the world's first "tri-folding display" prototype, as reported by Android Authority.
In a recent post on Weibo, Digital Chat Station revealed that they had the opportunity to test a new tri-fold screen prototype. Many previous rumors have said that Huawei is developing a unique tri-fold screen smartphone.
According to Gizmochina citing information from Digital Chat Station, Huawei's tri-fold phone will be the world's first smartphone with an innovative inward and outward folding design with a dual hinge. Currently, foldable screen smartphones on the market today only allow users to fold in one direction, either inward or outward.
What’s more, Huawei’s upcoming tri-fold phone will have a 10-inch display and will have a crease-controlled fold. The post also claims that the smartphone has “cutting-edge new technology” and mentions a lack of “competitors,” a bold statement given Samsung ’s dominance in the foldable phone market.
Another leaker, account X named @Ice Universe, also confirmed this claim and said that Huawei will be the first to launch a tri-fold phone. “One of the prerequisites for a tri-fold phone is that it has to be thin enough, and this is Huawei's strength,” Ice Universe said.
Huawei has been pursuing a tri-fold phone design for a long time, starting with patents for the technology in 2021, with more filings in 2022. Another patent filed in February 2023 shows a tri-fold phone with two hinges and a flexible display that folds outward, similar to the one Digital Chat Station mentioned in the post.
It is important to note that these reports come from unofficial sources and Huawei has not confirmed these developments. However, given Huawei’s patent filing and the reliability of these industry sources, the rumors carry considerable weight.