At one point in time not too long ago it looked like Samsung was going to be runaway leader in foldable smartphones with Apple a few years behind. Then out of nowhere Huawei introduced their Mate X on February 24th with news that many others were working on a future foldable phone like Motorola or Xiaomi.

Even Google is getting in the trend as a patent application has been published proving their interest in developing folding phone, though more simplistic than those from Samsung and Huawei. 

Google's patent FIG. 1 below is a perspective view of a computing device that includes a foldable display with a single inward fold and the foldable display in a partially folded configuration; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the computing device with a single inward fold, with the display in a folded configuration.

Google's patent FIG. 5 below is a schematic diagram of a foldable display having a bendable section that is bent around a minimum radius, R.sub.min; FIG. 6 is a graph showing an example stiffness curve for a foldable display in which the limit radius is reached when the foldable display is folded.

Beyond Google, we've learnt that ZTE is also hard at work with a foldable smartphone design closer to that of Samsung's Galaxy Fold. The images below came from ZTE's patent application 201830075747.2 published in late December 2018 in China.

Beyond Google, we've learnt that ZTE is also hard at work with a foldable smartphone design closer to that of Samsung's Galaxy Fold. The images below came from ZTE's patent application 201830075747.2 published in late December 2018 in China.