Move over Samsung — Huawei reportedly working on a triple-screen foldable phone

Foldable phones have been around for almost a decade. Now, smartphone makers are starting to test the limits of the tech.

When the first foldable phone arrived in 2018, it felt like a gadget from sci-fi movies. However, after seven years, smartphone makers are still struggling to reduce screen creases or trying to make phones slimmer.

However, according to a known Chinese leaker, DigitalChatStation, there’s something new afoot. Taking to Weibo, they claim to have seen a unique triple-screen folding phone with both an inward and outward hinge.

Though still in the prototype phase, the phone is said to have a massive 10-inch display. The leaker added that despite the complex mechanism, this phone has no visible “screen crease” and may not have any competition from other brands.

While DigitalChatStation didn’t reveal the brand experimenting with this new form factor, another tipster, IceUniverse, corroborated the claim.

Huawei will release the world's first three-fold mobile phone, and there will be no competitors for a long time after the release, because Samsung, the only competitor, is still struggling to study how to make ordinary folding machines thinner. It is an indisputable fact that…

— ICE UNIVERSE (@UniverseIce) July 8, 2024

According to IceUniverse, Huawei is readying this phone for launch. It’ll be the world’s first phone with a triple-fold design if it comes to fruition.

For those unaware, the commonly available foldable phones have a single hinge that supports folding the screen in half. This works in the case of vertically foldable displays (Galaxy Z Flip or Motorola Razr Plus) or horizontal foldable displays, as seen on the Galaxy Z Fold or Pixel Fold.

However, the concept that Huawei seems to be working on has two horizontal hinges. These will each support an inward and outward collapsing screen.

Huawei Mate XS 2

Though, this is not the first time we’ve heard about devices with more than one folding point. However, all of them were in the concept phase, as managing foldable displays and multiple hinges is a technological challenge in itself.

Xiaomi showcased a prototype of a dual-outward folding design back in 2019, which, unfortunately, never saw the light of day. Even Apple is said to be toying with a wrap-around display on its foldable iPhone. However, it needs to be seen which brand can develop a practical design and reach the finish line first.