Science

Chinese company reveals prototype for folding phone that bends in TWO places with a 10-inch display


Chinese company TCL reveals prototype for folding phone that bends in TWO places and boasts a 10-inch display

  • The prototype folds into a ‘Z’ shape and can be configured in multiple ways
  • Unfurled, the display spans 10 inches making it between a phone and tablet size
  • There’s no price or name for the device yet according to CNET
  • TCL is reportedly developing several other folding devices  

Makers of foldable phones are starting to up the ante with a new device with two hinges that can bend in multiple different directions.

The device, prototyped by Chinese tech company, TCL, has an official prototype highlighted by gadget site, CNET.

According to the outlet, the phone’s multiple hinges, which form a ‘Z’ shape, extend into a 10-inch display when fully opened.

When collapsed the phone folds onto itself to configure the device into a book-like shape with one, slimmer, outward facing display.

The device doesn’t currently have a name of a price, but according to CNET, its makers, TCL, which is known for building cheap televisions, plan on making a forray into phones with a number of bendable designs. 

Earlier this year, the company was rumored to have at least five folding devices in the works, including two tablets, two smartphones, and a type of wearable that swivels around one’s wrist.

Those concepts were portrayed in several renderings obtained by CNET earlier this year.  

TCL was reportedly in the early stages of developing these devices in January, and it’s unclear if they’ll hit the market as described or if the designs will change.

The firm has previously stated that it hopes to release a folding device by 2020.

TCL won’t be without plenty of competition when it comes to foldable gadgets. 

Chinese tech giant TCL, which acquired the BlackBerry brand in 2016, is developing a flexible phone that can bend around your wrist to become a pseudo-smartwatch

Chinese tech giant TCL, which acquired the BlackBerry brand in 2016, is developing a flexible phone that can bend around your wrist to become a pseudo-smartwatch

GALAXY FOLD SPECS

Starts at $1,980 

7.3-inch main display with Infinity Flex technology

4.6-inch outer display when folded

512 gb of Universal Flash Storage 3.0

7 nanometer processor

12gb of RAM 

Three rear-facing cameras

Two front-facing cameras on main display, one camera when folded

‘App continuity’ technology to run three apps at once 

Comes in cosmic Black, Martian Green, Astro Blue and Space Silver 

Huawei’s, $2,400 Mate X got an official release date for next month and will be among the first phones to pioneer a new breed of folding device.

When open, the Mate X’s display spans 8 inches and appears closer to a tablet. While closed, the phone folds onto itself for a more traditional-looking 6.6-inch display. 

The only other folding device currently available to consumers is Samsung’s Galaxy Fold which is slightly less expensive at $1,980.

Questions of durability have been among the most major issues for all folding devices and have plagued Samsung’s Galaxy Fold.

A design flaw that made the device’s display vulnerable to dust and other particles postponed the Fold for several months this year. 

 



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