14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung, Apple and LG are expected to unveil foldable smartphones in the next couple of years, and if the latest reports prove to be accurate, we can safely assume that other major players in the market will join the race.
While Samsung is expected to launch its own foldable handsets, Apple is likely to order them from those companies who own the technology required. LG, on the other hand, will use its foldable panel technology inside products ordered by other companies, like Apple for example.
If Nokia wants to remain in tow, it needs to come up with similar devices that will compete with Samsung, Apple and LG products, as well as other companies that might introduce foldable smartphones.
In this regard, it appears that the Finnish company has already filed for a patent that describes a foldable device, which could very well be a smartphone. The patent granted by the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is not the first of its kind.
Nokia has been filing similar patents for this type of technology since 2005, so we might not really see a Nokia-branded foldable smartphone anytime soon.
The main idea behind the foldable technology is to try to provide customers with larger displays in a pocket-sized form factor.
The patent reads: “[i]n this way it is possible to provide a pocket size device with a relatively large display (for example, a 6, 7 or 8 inch display or larger).”
Until the time comes for Nokia to compete other handset makers in innovation, the Finnish company is expected to have its second Android smartphone revealed next month at Mobile World Congress.
A flagship smartphone, known as Nokia 8, will be introduced in late February, but it will probably not arrive to the market until March or April, just like other flagships from rival companies.