Huawei Foldable Smartphone With Attached Case, Rectangular Design Spotted in Patent Document

Huawei's latest patent hints at a foldable phone that features a slim cover that could protect the display when it is folded shut.

Written by David Delima | Updated: 30 October 2024 18:27 IST

Huawei Foldable Smartphone With Attached Case, Rectangular Design Spotted in Patent Document

Photo Credit: Huawei

Huawei launched the world's first commercially available smartphone in September

Highlights

Huawei could be working on a foldable phone with three main components
Two of these could be display panels, while the third could be a cover
The attached cover might protect the foldable device when it is folded

Huawei could be working on a foldable phone that could be equipped with a cover that could be attached to the device, according to a patent document published on the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) website. Images of the purported handset suggest that it could arrive as a tri-fold foldable phone, with the outermost panel doubling as a protective cover when it is shut. The company recently launched the Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design as the world's first commercially available tri-fold phone.

Huawei Patent Document Points to Foldable With Attached Cover

A patent document on CNIPA discovered by 91Mobiles describes a foldable device, such as a smartphone or a tablet, that includes a protective case. The folding device is said to have two parts that are connected with a hinge, that can be unfolded and folded. The document appears to be discussing a phone with two panels that can form a larger display.

The device in Huawei's patent document features a fixed frame, along with an attached cover that is designed to be flexible, as it is supposed to wrap around the flexible portion of the foldable device, when it is shut. However, the description states that the cover will have a slim design, in order to lower the overall footprint of the handset.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

According to the details available in the document, Huawei's protective case could provide protection to the device, as it wraps around the part of the display that bends. The foldable is said to have an S-shaped design when it is shut, and the protective cover is said to have a transparent portion that can be used to view the contents of the screen when the device is shut.

Huawei's patent document also describes the use of magnetic components in the device to allow the bending parts of the foldable to connect to metal parts inside it. In is currently unclear how these components would function, but the document clearly states that the purpose of the third component is to protect the display.

While Gadgets 360 was able to confirm the presence of the patent document on the CNIPA website, there's no telling whether a device with this technology will be launched by the company in the future. Like other inventions described in patent documents, the company could change how the technology works before it is incorporated into future devices.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design

KEY SPECS
NEWS

Display (Primary) 6.40-inch

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 50-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

RAM 16GB

Storage 256GB

Battery Capacity 5600mAh

OS HarmonyOS 4.2

Resolution 1008x2232 pixels

More Huawei mobiles Huawei mobiles price in India

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Huawei, Patents, Foldables

David Delima

Email David Delima

As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More