Folding phones were touted to be the future of the smartphone form-factor. I’m still a little on the fence about that, but I do like that major manufacturers are trying their hand at changing up the standard rectangular square. And, the latest manufacturer to jump on this bandwagon looks to be HTC, only their design doesn’t really seem very polished.
Patents that the Taiwanese company filed late last year was spotted by LetsGoDigital and it showcases a rather rudimentary folding design. Unlike Samsung or Huawei who have worked hard to mask their hinge mechanisms, HTC puts theirs front-and-centre. And from the patent drawings, it looks like the hinge comes with two caps that protrude out of the side of the phone.
I suppose the one cool thing about this screen is that it can fold both inwards and outwards, eliminating the need for a secondary screen the way devices like the Galaxy Z Flip, and Moto Razr. But, considering how vulnerable these screens are, I’m not entirely sure that this is the best way for device longevity. I mean, even the Huawei seems to be abandoning the outfolding display because the technology just isn’t there just yet.
There are two things I like, however. First off, I like that it takes the Moto Razr and Galaxy Z Flip approach to a phone that folds in half, rather than a tablet that folds into a phone. The other thing, is that it looks like the phone folds completely flush without a thigh gap.
Now, whether that will actually happen on the final product remains to be seen. In fact, whether this will actually end up being an actual product is also up in the air. Personally, I don’t know that HTC should really be working on something like a folding phone. I’d like to see them return to their roots and make a properly good Android smartphone before attempting something as low-volume and volatile as this.
I miss having a device like the HTC 10 or the legendary One M7. I’m tired of phones being basically carbon copies of each other, or of what’s super popular. But, maybe that’s just a pipe dream at this point.
