Lenovo publishes patent for double fold "clamshell" smartphone

The folding phone market is gaining momentum with soon to be released devices like the Samsung Fold and the Mate X taking centre stage.  Lenovo has also been working on its own unique, double-hinged folding phone design for the upcoming RAZR phone.

In March last year, Lenovo filed a patent for a ‘flexible electronic device’ with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office).  The RAZR foldable phone was due to be presented at this year’s MWC, but the deadline proved to be too soon to present the final product.

This week, on 10th September, the patent was published in both the USPTO database and the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) Global Design Database.

The patent included 14 sketches of a folding phone with a clamshell design, with light-ribbed plastic material on its posterior surface.  The phone has two separate hinges, which allow you to either fold it just enough to preview the very top of the screen or fold it to check a larger portion of the screen.

Here we can see a thin, foldable phone, with round edges and small bezels.  The upper bezel houses the front camera and speaker.  The second speaker can be seen at the bottom of the phone.  A fingerprint sensor joins the single camera on the rear.

According to LetsGoDigital, the RAZR-candidate will be sold in Europe from December 2019/ January 2020 for around €1500, which would put it amongst the cheapest folding phones on the market to date.

View the patent here.

Source: LetsGoDigital