Foldables bring a breath of fresh air to stagnated innovation in smartphone design. Samsung and Motorola have so far been leading the pack with theirexcellent range of foldable handsets, but a lot ofother companies are either planning toor have already jumped on the bandwagon. Even after a couple of ineffectual attempts in the past, it looks like Microsoft still wants to make foldable phones, but with a new design direction — one that resembles theSamsung Galaxy Z Flip 5.
Thefirst-gen Microsoft Surface Duocame out way back in late 2020. While it was technically a foldable phone, it was a far cry from the design innovation that the Galaxy Fold series brought to the table. Instead of a flexible OLED panel that itself folds in the middle, the Surface Duo used tworegularscreens covered with glass separated by asymmetrical bezels.Its second generationreleased the following year didn’t come with any physical changes either. While the Surface Duo wouldn’t have won any design awards, it did come with a unique feature — the ability to fold both ways. And if this new report is anything to go by, Microsoft is planning to bring that capability to its future foldable as well.
Source:MSPoweruser
Detailed design sketches of a purported Microsoft foldable have surfaced, showing the inner functioning of the clamshell flip phone, courtesy ofMSpoweruser. The patent filing has some outlines of the handset that point to a 360-degree hinge, which will likely be a more sophisticated version of what we saw on the Surface Duo. It has parts that move forward to support the flexible display when the phone is open and recede when it’s shut to reduce the pressure on the display.
However, implementing a bi-folding hinge on a flexible display would be much trickier than on a Surface Duo-like device with two separate screens. Flexible panels on mainstream foldables are quite delicate and are designed to fold only one way with their center curve supported by the hinge. On a 360-degree hinge, the display will be required to fold both ways and will undergo a lot more stress in day-to-day usage. The hinge itself would need to handle the display crease and any bulge, depending on the direction the phone is folded.
Considering patents usually don’t show the complete picture, you should take this Microsoft flip phone design with a pinch of salt. It would nevertheless be interesting to see what the company is up to with its next foldable handset, and if this flip phone design with a two-way hinge ever makes it to the real world.
While the existing Surface Duo modelshave already started reaching their end of life, there has been no solid sign of a new Microsoft foldable coming out any soon — but this patent filing gives hope that the company hasn’t given up. In the meantime, if you need a foldable phone right now, your best bet is theGalaxy Fold 5.
