When foldables became a thing about six years ago, it was a pretty astounding moment for all of us smartphone enthusiasts. The form factor of smartphones had mostly remained the same up until that point, with the occasional quirky entry like the LG Wing. Foldables made things a bit more exciting.
Well, it seems that manufacturers have deemed six years to be enough, as the concept of the foldable is about to evolve once more. Oppo, Huawei, and Tecno have each not been shy about letting their concepts for a “tri-foldable” device be seen in the public eye, with Oppo being the latest of the bunch to exhibit its concept.
Oppo’s Tri-Fold Smartphone Concept Looks Pretty Good, At Least In Its Render
Every manufacturer dreams of being at the forefront of the next big smartphone innovation, so it is no surprise how many OEMs are rushing to say they did the tri-fold thing first (or at least early).
An Oppo exec has just shown off a render for a new tri-fold device. Besides the design, there are no specifics whatsoever, but we can see that unlike modern foldables, the device will have only one display which can be unfolded twice to reach what is probably an over 10-inch diagonal.
I have to say that it looks pretty good, especially as it makes very good use of that extra screen real estate. There’s a taskbar at the bottom holding a lot of apps for you to quickly access. The bezels also seem incredibly thin, and I think that’s one thing not to expect on an actual production device.
Huawei’s Take Is Expected To Launch Next Month And Might Be The First To Market
Before Huawei was thrown into exile from the global smartphone market, they were one of the most innovative companies. Even though they don’t offer smartphones for the North American market anymore, it clearly hasn’t put any dampers on the company’s innovation.
The company has not officially acknowledged the existence of its tri-fold, but we know it exists thanks to shots taken of the Huawei CEO very conveniently using it in public. It certainly looks slim, even when folded. It is also expected to have a 10-inch screen when fully unfolded.
The device has been confirmed to be coming out next month, by the CEO himself. However, the brand has not released any marketing material to let us in on its impending arrival despite how close “next month” is at this point.
Tecno Shows Off Its Phantom Ultimate 2 Tri-Fold Concept, With Some Screen Specs
There’s an unlikely participant in the tri-fold category and that’s Tecno. Known for relatively lower-priced smartphones in developing markets, Tecno actually beat everyone to centerstage with the first tri-fold smartphone to be made official, though it is merely a concept. It’s called the Phantom Ultimate 2.
The company showed off several visuals and it is rather impressive to look at. It is 11mm thin when folded with a 6.48-inch display, and that goes up to a 10-inch 1,620 x 2,880 LTPO OLED screen when fully unfolded.
There’s not much else known about it and it may never come to market for consumers, but it is certainly cool to actually see the concept in action.
