bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Karen Chiu

Julianna Wu

This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Smartphone displays are becoming larger than ever. But there’s a limit to how big a device can get before it can’t fit in your pocket anymore. One way manufacturers are trying to get around that is to fold a screen in half.
Seven years after Samsung first revealed it’s working on a foldable smartphone, the company finally unveiled its widely anticipated device this week. It works like a tiny book: The front cover features a regular screen, and the entire handset folds out to reveal a tablet-sized display.
Samsung is calling the technology Infinity Flex Display. It runs the One UI -- an Android variant optimized for bendable usage, created in collaboration with Google. Samsung says its device will enter mass production in the coming months.

But Samsung isn’t the first to introduce a foldable smartphone.
ZTE, for example, launched the Axon M handset early this year that also folds like a book. Unlike Samsung’s bendable display though, the Axon M features two separate 5.2-inch screens -- with a black seam sitting glaringly in the middle.
Dual-screen smartphone: ZTE Axon M review
Then last week, a little-known Chinese company called Royole created a bit of a storm when it showed off a flexible phablet that bends like a blanket -- though it looked like the software was still pretty buggy.
Lenovo also teased a bendy prototype a few weeks earlier. 

Patent filings have revealed yet more possible designs from other phone makers. Huawei’s sketch, for instance, shows a device that also folds together like a book -- while Apple’s submission points to a device that rolls together like an ancient scroll.

Of course, patents don’t always lead to products. Tech companies often apply for patents just to secure the rights to a design, regardless of whether they’ll bring the feature to the market. But with Samsung’s latest entry, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see more manufacturers jumping on the bendable bandwagon.
“It looks like a menstrual pad”: Netizens slam ZTE’s wearable smartphone

For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.



Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun marks roll-out of 100,000th EV by paying homage to Tesla’s Elon Musk

China’s tech firms fear bigger curbs as TSMC stops AI chip supply on US order

Qualcomm chip sales surge thanks to Chinese smartphone makers, but Apple’s shift looms

Semiconductor firms ASML, AMD, Qualcomm reaffirm China commitment at CIIE trade fair

Smartphones

How foldable phones like Samsung’s newest handset work

Abacus

Tech

Big Tech

Prototypes and patents reveal designs from Samsung, Huawei, Apple and many others


Of course, Xiaomi, ZTE and Royole aren't the only companies working on folding phones. Julianna and Karen ran through patents filed by major smartphone makers which shows the very different possibilities that they're exploring -- everything from clamshells to rollable scrolls and... tents. (No, really.)
