LG Electronics is one of the smartphone manufacturers that has publicly announced that they have a foldable and rollable telephone in development. However, the company does not have the ambition to be the first to launch a folding phone on the market, so in the meantime, LG opts for dual-screen solutions. For example, an optional phone case was developed for the LG V50 ThinQ with an integrated display meaning that the device has two screens.
Next month, a dual-screen LG smartphone will be unveiled at IFA 2019. It may be the LG V60 ThinQ, although there are more and more indications that this device will be named LG G8x. It would, therefore, be the first dual-screen phone in the high-end G-series.
In the background, the design department of the Korean manufacturer continues to work on other futuristic smartphone designs. For example, yesterday a design patent was granted to LG Electronics for a specially designed folding telephone. The device looks a bit like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, although a so-called Z-Fold folding system has been chosen.
LG folding phone Z-Fold type
LG Electronics filed a design patent in China on 6 March 2019, after which the patent was published on 9 August 2019 in the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) database. 18 sketches are included that show a special folding device with two displays, one of which is a flexible screen.
We can see a fairly rectangular designed smartphone that you can buy in the store. You can, however, unfold the phone, after which a large flexible screen appears on the inside. This screen is twice the size of a regular phone screen and folds open in width – like a tablet. As if that were not enough, the housing accommodates a second display, with which an even wider screen surface can be created.
The screen area of the second display is half as small as the flexible main display. The device has remarkably narrow screen edges, it has an almost full-screen design, with only a small frame edge visible between the first and second display. You can unfold the smartphone according to the Z-Fold principle, which is also used a lot in brochures for the retail trade.
The second display therefore also serves as a front display. Because of the unique hinge, the front screen can bend in such a way that it becomes part of the main screen on the inside. Very ingenious, it is not entirely original.
In 2017, concept photos were already being distributed by a Samsung foldable smartphone that showed a remarkable number of similarities with the patented LG folding phone. Earlier this year the Russian manufacturer Caviar also presented an exclusive Limited Edition concept of a folding iPhone, this was also a Z-Fold model.
Last year, LetsGoDigital also reported on a patent for an LG foldable smartphone in which the operation of such a type of smartphone was recorded. So it seems that the company has been investigating the possibilities of such a folding phone for some time.
Portless foldable phone from LG
The back of LG’s foldable phone seems to accommodate a dual camera. This is the only visible camera system. In other words, there is no selfie camera visible. It may be assumed that by then the under-screen camera technology is sufficiently developed and this model can be equipped with a selfie camera that is integrated under the screen. The fingerprint sensor also appears to be placed under the screen.
There are two physical buttons on the right side. These are also the only buttons that are visible on the patent sketches supplied. The bottom only shows a microphone and a speaker. In other words, a 3.5 mm connection is missing, this also applies to the USB Type-C connection. This folding phone from LG is therefore completely portless and will probably only be able to charge wirelessly.
Whether and when LG wants to introduce this mobile phone is as yet unknown. It seems at least to be a logical step after the dual-screen phones and that LG will eventually present a foldable smartphone, that seems to be certain.
At the end of last year, the Korean manufacturer already applied for various trademarks for its future smartphone models, such as LG Bendi, Foldi and Folds. The name LG Duplex was also recorded, which in our opinion would be a fitting name for the patented folding phone.
Consumers who want to buy a foldable smartphone will have to be patient. If everything goes according to plan, the launch of both the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X folding smartphones will take place next month. Depending on the reaction of the market, other manufacturers will also follow at a faster or less rapid pace.
