Samsung teased its first-ever foldable phone in November 2018 and it is slated to launch sometime in March or April this year. Similarly, other brands are making efforts too but Xiaomi which is unofficially often called as the “Apple of China” has mesmerized and enthralled tech enthusiasts with its new foldable phone for which, a 1-minute video was posted on Chinese social media site Weibo.
Lin Bin, the co-founder of Xiaomi, states that this is an engineering model which means there will be a number of changes that this foldable phone could see in the coming iterations. Coming back to the video, it is a 1-minute video that shows Bin using the foldable phone from Xiaomi firstly as a tablet and then folding it to use it as a smartphone.
According to the original Weibo post in Chinese that was translated in English, Bin states that Xiaomi has actually conquered a number of technical problems such as boasting MIUI adaptation to fit the varying screen size and the folding form factor. Further, he pointed out towards the flexible folding screen technology, flexible cover technology, and four-wheel drive folding shaft technology which are few of the many technical complications that comes with a phone when you are thinking of a ‘foldable’ phone.
Unlike Samsung Galaxy F’s outward folding design or Apple’s patented inward folding design, Xiaomi has opted for a dual-folding mechanism using two hinges that halve the extra sides of the screens to create a smartphone out of a tablet which seems both beautiful and practical since it can be used to get a higher screen real estate or the user can simply fold it to use as a phone.
Leakster Evan Blass posted a similar video on Twitter although hinted that it resembles slightly to the Apple folding phone that was teased a few days ago in a patent that hinted a 2020 timeline for the unveiling of a folding smartphone.
Can't speak to the authenticity of this video or device, but it's allegedly made by Xiaomi, I'm told. Hot new phone, or gadget porn deepfake? pic.twitter.com/qwFogWiE2F
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 3, 2019
Back to the Xiaomi prototype, it could be named Xiaomi MIX Flex or Dual Flex or just maybe Flex but these are just suggestions. So, we don’t have any timeline about its unveiling and neither any specs information that could hint what beast the folding phone is holding under its flexible chassis. Xiaomi could completely change the design or elements since it is a prototype and will go through a number of stages before materializing into a legit smartphone.
