LG patents large foldable phone to take on the Mate X and Galaxy Fold
LG has patented a unique foldable phone design with an incredibly large screen. Will this be the foldable that could overtake early adopters Samsung and Huawei?
We’ve already seen some innovative designs and rumours in the first generation of foldable phones, but LG’s latest patent could beat them all.
The images show a mobile phone, dubbed the Z-Fold, that looks like a normal device when folded up, but when unfurled it concertinas out into an extra-large foldable screen and one standard smartphone screen.
It pretty much triples the screen size on your phone, and this unique design has the opportunity to eclipse the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X.
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The design from LG deals with two of the major issues we had with the Galaxy Fold. Firstly, the outer screen on Samsung’s foldable was a puny 4.6 inches, and so could not be satisfactorily be used as a substitute for a regular smartphone.
Secondly, the fully unfolded device had a square-shaped screen that, while good for multi-tasking, was not ideal for watching videos in the usual widescreen ratio. LG looks to have solved both of these potential problems with its new patent — but bear in mind that it’s still just an idea at this stage, and we’ll have to see it in action to judge if it lives up to its potential.
Image Credit: Let’s Go Digital
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There are a few other noteworthy features from the images published by Dutch website Let’s Go Digital. Firstly there’s no USB port visible on the handset, which could mean that it would rely on wireless charging for power, and cloud storage for data sharing. Secondly, no selfie camera is visible whether the phone is folded or unfolded. This could mean that it will have an under-screen selfie camera, which would indicate the release is still some way off yet as that technology has not yet been released onto the market.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
