The Chinese ZTE has had a tough time recently. Nevertheless the company still seems to focus on the future, including the development of a foldable smartphone. A recently published patent shows the company may launch a similar looking device as the Samsung Galaxy Fold in the future. A foldable phone with a front display that can be unfolded into a tablet-size device.
ZTE foldable smartphone looks like Galaxy Fold
Earlier this year ZTE Corporation filed a patent with the Chinese CNIPA (former SIPO). The design patent was published on December 18, 2018 and describes a foldable smartphone with a flexible display. As described by the China-experts at Mobiel Kopen the foldable phone from ZTE unfolds into a tablet.
On the front we see a large display with a small bezel for the speaker and the selfie camera. The back looks similar to that of the earlier this year released ZTE Axon 9. The smartphone sports a dual camera in a vertical set-up and a flash underneath. In addition we see a fingerprint scanner in the middle. There does not seem to be any room for a 3.5mm jack, ZTE has already omitted the headphone connection with its last devices.
Once unfolded the smartphone becomes a tablet. No exact dimensions are mentioned in the patent, but the flexible screen will be at least twice the size of the front-facing screen.
So far little is known about ZTE and their plans for a foldable smartphone. However, the company already experienced with a ‘foldable’ dual-screen smartphone last year, the Axon M. It therefore doesn’t seem unlikely for the Chinese manufacturer to develop a similar looking device as the Samsung Galaxy Fold in the future. However, at the moment it’s still completely unknown when this device may hit the market.
ZTE dual-sided phone
In addition, ZTE also patented a dual-sided smartphone earlier this month. This design looked pretty similar to the Nubia X, that was released earlier this year by the former-subsidiary of ZTE. However, both the Nubia X and the ZTE Axon M come with two separate displays, while the patented dual-screen smartphone consists of one large screen that’s wrapped around one side of the body.
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