The Mobile World Congress starts in Barcelona. This year, for the first time, various foldable smartphone models will be on display at the world’s most important trade fair for the mobile telecom industry. This week the Samsung Galaxy Fold was introduced; also, Huawei and Motorola will introduce a foldable device at MWC 2019. However, another manufacturer wants to use the opportunity to release more details about the developed foldable phone. That smartphone brand is Oppo; It may launch a foldable smartphones today at MWC 2019.
Oppo smartphone with a folding screen
In November last year, Chuck Wang, product manager at Oppo, announced at a meeting with European tech journalists that the Chinese manufacturer was also developing a foldable phone. This was the first and, until now, the only time Oppo made an official statement about its developing smartphone with a flexible display.
There was no mention of a release date. According to the research report that LetsGoDigital received exclusively at the end of last year from the Korean research agency CGS-CIMB Research, Oppo will unveil a foldable telephone in the second half of 2019.
The company has not yet released any information about the design. However, the Chinese manufacturer has applied for various patents for smartphone models with a folding screen over time. In 2017, LetsGoDigital came across a patent for a clamshell design.
Afterward, the company recorded various designs that expanded to a tablet format. Although the designs vary, these models have one thing in common: the display is on the outside when you fold up the phone. In one design, a small water droplet was notch visible; in another model, the selfie camera was processed in the display.
The most controversial and unique design was recorded in the Global Design Database of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) in December 2018. This patent shows an almost full-screen design. How is this made possible? Oppo opts for a pop-up camera. To get a better picture of this foldable mobile phone, LetsGoDigital has had a series of professional 3D renders designed.
Foldable Oppo phone with a pop-up camera
We have never seen a patent for a foldable phone model with a pop-up camera. Yet it is certainly not inconceivable that a manufacturer like Oppo will choose such a design. Finally, the Chinese manufacturer worldwide was the first to introduce a smartphone with an automatic retractable camera, the high-end Oppo Find X.
The patent sketches show a pop-up camera system that houses two cameras and a flash. Because the screen is on the outside, you can use the camera in different ways. Both when the appliance is folded open and folded.
When the phone is folded, the camera can be used as a selfie camera, but by turning the device around, you also have a regular dual camera at your disposal. Finally, you also have a full screen on the other side of the device, on which a live view mode can be shown.
If we compare this with the recently introduced Galaxy Fold from Samsung, you will need far fewer cameras (namely 2 instead of 6) to use the cameras in all possible ways. In addition, there is a clear difference to see when you use the device in tablet mode. The Oppo foldable smartphone shows a full-screen full screen, while the Galaxy Fold has a fairly wide design notch is chosen. This notch removes the symmetry from the screen, which some will certainly experience as disturbing.
Oppo at MWC 2019
Unfortunately, it will take some time before Oppo introduces its first foldable smartphone. It is difficult to predict whether it will soon be possible to buy a foldable Oppo phone in the Netherlands. Since the current top model, the Find X, is also available in our country, we certainly do not want to exclude this option. But the chances are that we will have to wait until the second half of 2019 before Oppo’s folding phone is actually launched.
Before that time, the company will also reveal several other smartphone models. For example, last week the Oppo AX7 was introduced, an attractive budget smartphone. The Chinese manufacturer also has a phone in development with a 10x optical zoom lens, and we expect to hear more about this tomorrow. Then the Oppo Innovation Event 2019 will take place in Barcelona. Oppo has already released a teaser in which the zoom function was demonstrated.
In addition, the Oppo F11 Pro is expected, this phone probably has a 16-megapixel pop-up selfie camera and a dual AI camera on the back, with a whopping 48 + 5 megapixels. The new high-end smartphone will probably be powered by the MediaTek P70 processor with 6 GB of RAM and has a 4,000 mAh battery with 18W fast charging. The new products will be exhibited at MWC 2019 from Monday 25 February until Thursday 28 February.
