{"id":6763,"date":"2019-01-26T13:19:08","date_gmt":"2019-01-26T13:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/xiaomi-reveals-fold-in-three-smartphone-bbc-news\/"},"modified":"2019-01-26T13:19:08","modified_gmt":"2019-01-26T13:19:08","slug":"xiaomi-reveals-fold-in-three-smartphone-bbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/xiaomi-reveals-fold-in-three-smartphone-bbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Xiaomi reveals fold-in-three smartphone – BBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Media caption<\/span>WATCH: Xiaomi’s double-folding smartphone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A smartphone that transforms into a tablet by folding out two parts of its display bent behind its back has been unveiled by Xiaomi.<\/p>\n

The Chinese technology company revealed the prototype in a post to the social media site Weibo<\/a>. It promised the “double-folding” device was coming and asked the public to help name it.<\/p>\n

Samsung and the start-up Royole have previously unveiled flexible-screened phones of their own.<\/p>\n

But they only folded at a single point.<\/p>\n

“It is very interesting that Xiaomi has adopted a three-way folding option on its prototype,” said Ben Wood, from the consultancy CCS Insight.<\/p>\n

“It is hard to judge the relative benefits of this versus a single fold and it will depend considerably on the user interface that Xiaomi chooses to adopt as it opens the ability to have a three-quarter screen option.<\/p>\n

“However, it certainly means there is an additional point of failing. The fold is typically the area where there are most likely to be problems over time.”<\/p>\n

Rumours of the device’s existence began to circulate at the start of the month after the journalist Evan Blass posted a separate video of the handset to Twitter. However, he was unable to verify it was real.<\/p>\n

The company has, however, confirmed to the BBC the latest clip, featuring its co-founder Bin Lin, is authentic, but said it had nothing to add at this point.<\/p>\n

Weibo shows that the video has already been played nearly 3.5 million times and attracted thousands of comments since it was uploaded on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Foldable screens present smartphone-makers a means to make their products look more distinctive after a period during which they have coalesced around the same form: a dark black rectangle with ever-shrinking bezels.<\/p>\n

But the innovation is expected to come at a steep price, at least when the first devices go on sale.<\/p>\n

And it is unclear as yet what use cases manufacturers will promote to justify the added cost.<\/p>\n

Royole is still seeking feedback from software creators via a “developers’ version” of its handset. That went on sale late last year.<\/p>\n

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Media caption<\/span>WATCH: Hands on with the first bendy phone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Huawei has said it will launch a phone with a fold-out screen<\/a> in 2019, while Samsung has said it will reveal more details about its plans for the Galaxy X phone – first teased in November – at a press event on 20 February.<\/p>\n

Lenovo-owned Motorola has also published a patent that illustrates how a flexible display could be incorporated into its classic flip-open Razr design.<\/p>\n

And Google has said it is working on a new version of Android that will natively support “foldable” devices rather than requiring manufacturers to create their own workarounds to adapt to the changing dimensions of their devices’ screens.<\/p>\n

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Image copyright<\/span>
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Other manufacturers may also have further announcements of their own to make at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, which begins on 25 February.<\/p>\n

“Folding displays are still very much a case of a solution looking for a problem but I remain firmly convinced that we are seeing the seeds being sown for the next generation of smart devices,” said Mr Wood.<\/p>\n

“[One concern is] the additional bulk the fold creates. <\/p>\n

“However, there is no doubt a smartphone with a folding screen will be a magnet for gadget lovers.”<\/p>\n

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IBM Simon:<\/strong> The first mobile phone to offer a touchscreen user-interface – but its battery only lasted an hour.<\/p>\n

Siemens S10: <\/strong>The first handset with a colour display – although only red, green, blue and white could be shown.<\/p>\n

LG Prada: <\/strong>The handset debuted a capacitive touchscreen – detecting finger taps by changes in the display’s electrical field rather than pressure.<\/p>\n

iPhone: <\/strong>Apple made use of “multi-touch”, detecting several points of contact – allowing pinch-to-zoom and other interactions.<\/p>\n

Nokia N85:<\/strong> First phone with an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) display, letting it show deeper blacks and better contrast.<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy Note: <\/strong>Although not the first “phablet”, the handset proved there was demand for a 5+ inch display, despite claims it was “comically huge”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

LG G Flex: <\/strong>The curved design was derided as being a gimmick, but points the way to the true “bendy” phones of the future.<\/p>\n

Sharp Aquos Crystal: <\/strong>The phone’s “edgeless” look foreshadowed today’s trend to keep bezels to a minimum.<\/p>\n

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge: <\/strong>Samsung’s first handset to wrap its screen over one its sides used the extra space for notifications and app shortcuts.<\/p>\n

Sony Xperia Z5 Premium: <\/strong>The smartphone premiered a 4K display before it was easy to obtain such ultra-high definition mobile content.<\/p>\n

Essential Phone: <\/strong>The start-up beat Apple to featuring a camera notch in its display, which allowed the rest of the screen to extend upwards.<\/p>\n

Royole FlexPai:<\/strong> The California-based start-up surprised the industry when it revealed the “world’s first foldable phone” last year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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