A foldable smartphone (also known as a foldable phone or simply foldable) is a smartphone with a folding form factor. It is reminiscent of the clamshell (or "flip phone") design of many earlier feature phones.[1][2] Some variants of the concept use multipletouchscreen panels on a hinge, while other designs utilise a flexible display. Concepts of such devices date back as early as Nokia's "Morph" concept in 2008, and a concept presented by Samsung Electronics in 2013 (as part of a larger set of concepts utilizing flexible OLED displays), while the first commercially available folding smartphones with OLED displays began to emerge in November 2018.
Some devices may fold out on a vertical axis to into a wider, tablet-like form, but are still usable in a smaller, folded state; the display may either wrap around to the back of the device when folded (as with the Royole FlexPai and Huawei Mate X), or use a booklet-like design where the larger, folded screen is located on the interior, and a screen on its "cover" allows the user to interact with the device without opening it (such as the Samsung Galaxy Fold series). Horizontally-folding smartphones have also been produced, typically using a clamshell form factor.
The first generation of commercially released foldable smartphones faced concerns over their durability, as well as their high prices.[3][4][5][6]
History
The Kyocera Echo was a precursor to the current generation of foldable smartphones.
In 2008, Nokia presented animated concepts of a flexible device it dubbed "Morph", which had a tri-fold design that could be bended into various forms, such as a large unfolded device, a feature phone-sized unit, and a smart wristband. In a 2019 retrospective on the concept, CNET noted that Morph could be considered a forerunner to the first wave of commercially produced folding phones, as well as a showcase of future possibilities.[10]
In 2011, Kyocera released a dual-touchscreenAndroid smartphone known as the Echo, which featured a pair of 3.5-inch touchscreens. When folded, the top screen continued to face the user while covering the secondary screen. Two individual apps could be shown on the displays, a single app could span across them, while specific apps also featured "optimized" two-pane layouts.[11][12] Two years later, NEC released the Medias W in Japan. Unlike the Echo, the secondary screen could be folded behind the phone. The camera rotated with the screen so that the same sensor could face both forward and rear [13] In 2017, ZTE released the Axon M with a similar hinge to the Medias W. ZTE stated that the more powerful hardware of modern smartphones, and improvements to multitasking and tablet support on Android, helped to improve this experience.[14]
The development of thin, flexibleOLED displays enabled the possibility for new designs and form factors. During its Consumer Electronics Show keynote in 2013, Samsung presented several concepts—codenamed Youm - for smartphones incorporating flexible displays. One such concept was a smartphone that could fold outward into a single, uninterrupted tablet-sized display. The first Youm concept to make it to a production model was the Galaxy Note Edge—a phablet with a portion of the screen that sloped over the right-hand bezel.[15][16][17][18]
Speculation surrounding the development of folding phones using OLED displays began to emerge more rapidly in 2018. In January 2018, it was reported that LG Electronics had obtained a design patent for a folding smartphone.[19] Later in June, it was reported that Microsoft had been developing a similar device as part of its Surface line, codenamed "Andromeda" (itself a spiritual successor to a dual-screen booklet tablet prototype Microsoft had been exploring in the late-2000s known as Courier),[20][21] while Samsung was also said to be developing such a device.[22]
In November 2018, the Chinese startup Royole released the first commercially available foldable smartphone with an OLED display, the Royole Flexpai. It featured a single 7.8-inch display that folds outwards, leaving the display exposed when folded.[23] Later that month at its developers' conference, Samsung officially teased a prototype of its folding smartphone, which would be produced "in the coming months". The prototype used a booklet-style layout, with an "InfinityFlex" display located on the inside of the device, and a smaller "cover" screen on the front of the device to allow access when the screen is closed.[24] At a concurrent developers' summit, Android VP of engineering Dave Burke stated that the next version of the platform would provide enhancements and guidance relevant to folding devices, leveraging existing features.[25]
In January 2019, Xiaomi CEO Lin Bin published a video on Sina Weibo, featuring him demonstrating a prototype smartphone with two flaps capable of being folded inward.[26] Samsung officially unveiled the Galaxy Fold during its media event at Mobile World Congress in February 2019.[27] Alongside the Galaxy Fold, the convention also saw other foldable phones being unveiled or teased, such as the Huawei Mate X,[28] and TCL presenting various prototype concepts featuring its "DragonHinge" technology (including a bracelet-styled device).[29] LG did not unveil a folding device, citing a desire to focus more on re-gaining market share in the smartphone market. It did, however, unveil a "Dual Screen" case accessory for its LG V50 smartphone—a folio-styled case containing a secondary display panel inside.[30]
Other companies expressed interest in the concept, or have received patents on designs (such as hinge implementations and overall designs) relating to foldable phones. Motorola Mobility had received patents for a horizontal folding smartphone reminiscent of clamshellfeature phones.[31][32][33]
In April 2019, the impending launch of the Galaxy Fold was met with quality concerns from critics, after widespread reports of review units experiencing varying forms of display failure (in some instances caused by accidental removal of a plastic layer meant to protect the screen in lieu of glass, along with other failures). Samsung indefinitely postponed the device's release, stating that it needed time to investigate the failures and improve the device's durability.[5][34]Huawei also delayed its Huawei Mate X, with the company citing its desire to take a "cautious" approach due to the Samsung Galaxy Fold.[35][36]
In November 2019, Motorola unveiled its horizontal-folding Razr—inspired by its former Razr feature phone line released on 6 February 2020.[37][38] Samsung also announced a similar device known as the Galaxy Z Flip.[39]
Huawei announced the Mate Xs on 24 February 2020 as a hardware revision of the original Mate X; it was released in "global markets" outside China in March 2020. The device features a more durable display, improved hinge function and a redesigned cooling system, as well as the newer Kirin 990 5G SoC and Android 10 with EMUI 10.[40] Samsung later revealed the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 in September 2020.
Motorola Mobility launched the Moto Razr 2022 on 11 August 2022, it is currently only available to the Chinese market but there is speculation that it could become available to other world markets at a later date.[41][42][43] In June 2023, Motorola Mobility announced the new Razr (2023) and Razr+ (2023) to the U.S. market.[44][45]
Foldable smartphones typically use flexible, plastic OLED displays rather than glass (such as Corning's Gorilla Glass product, which is used in the majority of mid and high-end smartphones). Plastic displays are naturally capable of sustaining the required bend radius for a foldable smartphone, but they are more susceptible to blemishes and scratches than traditional glass smartphone displays. Although Corning does produce a flexible glass product known as Willow Glass, the company states that its manufacturing process requires use of a salt solution—thus making it unsuitable for electronic displays because the salt can damage the transistors used in OLED panels (which are built directly on the panel). Nonetheless, the company stated in March 2019 that it was in the process of developing a flexible glass suitable for smartphones, which would be 1mm (0.039in) thick and have a 5mm (0.20in) bend radius.[46]
Samsung marketed its Galaxy Z Flip as featuring 30μm (0.0012in)-thick "ultra-thin glass" with a plastic layer similar to the Galaxy Fold, manufactured by Samsung with materials from Schott AG, which is "produced using an intensifying process to enhance its flexibility and durability", and injected with a "special material up to an undisclosed depth to achieve a consistent hardness". A stress test by YouTube channel JerryRigEverything showed the screen was scratched when rubbed with a pick with a Mohs rating of 2 (in comparison, most smartphones tested by the channel begin to experience scratches with 6 and 7-rated picks), placing its durability in line with other folding phones. However, The Verge did note Samsung's statement that the device contained a protective polymer layer similar to that of the Galaxy Fold.[4][47]
A smartphone is a mobile device that combines the functionality of a traditional mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, social media, and multimedia playback. Smartphones also have built-in cameras, GPS navigation, and support for various communication methods, including voice calls, text messaging, and internet-based messaging apps.
The Motorola Razr is a brand of design-oriented mobile phones manufactured by Motorola Mobility, a division of Lenovo. Its current iteration since 2019, styled motorola razr, consist of foldable smartphones reminiscent of the original Razr line of flip phones.
A clamshell design is a kind of form factor for electronic devices in the shape of a clamshell. Mobile phones, handheld game consoles, and especially laptops, are often designed like clamshells. Clamshell devices are usually made of two sections connected by a hinge, each section containing either a flat panel display or an alphanumeric keyboard/keypad, which can fold into contact together like a bivalve shell.
Motorola Mobility LLC, marketed as Motorola, is an American consumer electronics manufacturer primarily producing smartphones and other mobile devices running Android. Headquartered at Merchandise Mart in Chicago, Illinois, it is a subsidiary of the Chinese multinational technology company Lenovo.
A flexible display or rollable display is an electronic visual display which is flexible in nature, as opposed to the traditional flat screen displays used in most electronic devices. In recent years there has been a growing interest from numerous consumer electronics manufacturers to apply this display technology in e-readers, mobile phones and other consumer electronics. Such screens can be rolled up like a scroll without the image or text being distorted. Technologies involved in building a rollable display include electronic ink, Gyricon, Organic LCD, and OLED.
AMOLED is a type of OLED display device technology. OLED describes a specific type of thin-film-display technology in which organic compounds form the electroluminescent material, and active matrix refers to the technology behind the addressing of pixels.
The form factor of a mobile phone is its size, shape, and style, as well as the layout and position of its major components.
PenTile matrix is a family of patented subpixel matrix schemes used in electronic device displays. PenTile is a trademark of Samsung. PenTile matrices are used in AMOLED and LCD displays.
A phablet is a mobile device combining or straddling the size formats of smartphones and tablets. The word is a portmanteau of phone and tablet. As of 2020, most budget and entry-level Android smartphones are phablets, as they have at least a 165 mm diagonal screen length and an overall vertical length of at least 160 mm.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is an Android-based foldable smartphone developed by Samsung Electronics. Unveiled on February 20, 2019, it was released on September 6, 2019 in South Korea. The device is capable of being folded open to expose a 7.3-inch tablet-sized flexible display, while its front contains a smaller "cover" display, intended for accessing the device without opening it. With the announcement of the Galaxy Z Flip, Samsung's foldable phones were made part of the Galaxy Z series. This also retroactively applies to the Galaxy Fold.
The Huawei Mate X is an Android-based high end foldable smartphone produced by Huawei. It was unveiled at MWC 2019 on 25 February 2019 and was originally scheduled to launch in June 2019, but the launch was pushed back to allow for extensive testing in light of the failures reported by users of a similar product, the Galaxy Fold from Samsung. The Mate X launched in China only in November 2019. Huawei announced the Mate Xs on 24 February 2020 as a hardware revision of the original Mate X; it was released in "global markets" outside China in March 2020. The device features a more durable display, improved hinge function and a redesigned cooling system, as well as the newer Kirin 990 5G SoC and Android 10 with EMUI 10.
The 2019Motorola Razr is an Android foldable smartphone produced by Motorola Mobility. Unveiled on November 14, 2019, it was released on February 6, 2020. The device is designed to be reminiscent of the original Motorola Razr feature phone series and features a horizontally foldable screen. An updated version of the phone, Motorola Razr 5G, was announced on September 9, 2020, and released on September 15 of that year.
The Royole FlexPai is a phone made by the Chinese company Royole. It was the first commercially available foldable smartphone, with a 7.8 inch display that folds outwards. It was first announced at CES 2018 and it started shipping on December of the same year.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is an Android-based foldable smartphone developed by Samsung Electronics as part of the Samsung Galaxy Z series. Its existence was first revealed in an advertisement during the 2020 Academy Awards. Unveiled alongside the Galaxy S20 on February 11, 2020, it was released on February 14, 2020. Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold, the device folds horizontally and uses a hybrid glass coating branded as "Infinity Flex Display". It is available in three colors for the LTE version and two colors for the 5G version. The 5G version was also made available in a limited-edition "Mystic White" color.
The Samsung Galaxy Z series is a line of foldable smartphones manufactured by Samsung Electronics.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is an Android-based foldable smartphone developed by Samsung Electronics for its Samsung Galaxy Z series, succeeding the Samsung Galaxy Fold. It was announced on 5 August 2020 alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 20, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, the Galaxy Buds Live, and the Galaxy Watch 3. Samsung later revealed pricing and availability details on 1 September.
The Huawei Mate X2 is an Android-based high end foldable smartphone produced by Huawei. The phone, unveiled on 22 February 2021, serves as the successor to the Mate X and Mate Xs. The phone was vastly redesigned from the previous generation, adopting a dual-screen design very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2.
Bootloader unlocking is the process of disabling the bootloader security that makes secure boot possible. It can make advanced customizations possible, such as installing a custom firmware. On smartphones this can be a custom Android distribution or another mobile operating system. Some bootloaders are not locked at all, others can be unlocked using a standard command, others need assistance from the manufacturer. Some do not include an unlocking method and can only be unlocked through a software exploit.
Xiaomi MIX Fold 2 is an Android-based foldable smartphone manufactured by Xiaomi. For the first time in the MIX Fold series, the phone developed in partnership with Leica camera, it was announced on August 11, 2022.
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