Nokia seems to be slowly edging its way into the smartphone space after its comeback and has some major plans up its sleeve.
According to reports, Nokia is looking to throw the gauntlet to LG and Samsung and has its very own foldable smartphone in the works.
The news has been fueled by the emergence of a patent which suggests that Nokia could have a foldable smartphone in the pipeline.
"An apparatus including: housing parts foldably connected to each other, the housing parts being configured to be movable between an open configuration and a closed configuration; a display assembly pivotably connected to the housing parts, wherein the display assembly comprises a flexible display part; the flexible display part is configured to bend in response to a closing movement of the housing parts; and the display assembly is configured to be retracted inside a space defined by the housing parts in response to a closing movement of the housing parts," notes the abstract for the Nokia patent listing.
Interestingly, the patent for the "Foldable Device" was filed by Nokia Corporation with the USPTO in 2013. However, the USPTO granted the same to the company in September 2016.
Nokia also has patent applications for cruder tech for foldable displays since 2005, which suggests that it has been thinking of a foldable handset for some time now.
Exploring Innovation
When it comes to being pioneers of innovation, Nokia belongs to an exclusive group of mobile companies which incorporated the idea of replacing older technological aspects with new ones.
The latest patent shows off the sketch of a device which looks like a pocket mirror. The device comprises of two parts which are the same and connected using a hinge mechanism. On top, one can only see one flexible display, which will bend when the sides of the handset are closed.
The Nokia foldable smartphones will likely deploy the fold-out and not fold-in display technology as suggested by the patent, which says that the "display assembly is configured to be moved outward in the space defined by the housing parts in response to an opening movement of the housing parts."
Only Rumors?
While a single patent does not necessarily illustrate anything extraordinary, having said that Nokia could merely be patenting an idea, without any clear indication of actually deploying the technology.
Advent Of Smart Foldable Phones
Market research firm Strategy Analytics has predicted that the foldable display market will increase from 2.7 million units in 2017 to 163 million units by 2022.
The foldable Samsung Galaxy X is rumored for release in 2017. Reports hint that Samsung has 100,000 units of fold-out devices in the works and LG is also rumored to have a similar technology in the pipeline. With Nokia looking to join the party, consumers have exciting times ahead.
