Xiamoi has been granted a patent for another foldable phone similar to the Motorola Razr 2019. This is the second patent Xiaomi has applied for with such a design in a month. The first patent for the Xiaomi foldable smartphone was granted in November, while this was granted on December 6, 2019.
The new patent shows that the Xiaomi foldable smartphone folds vertically but there are some major differences when compared to the first patent. Unlike the first patent, this one has a bezel at the top of the display for the selfie camera and sensors. This should be translated into a higher screen-to-body ratio. But that’s not all.
The diagram shows the phone has a pop-up selfie camera. The camera is flanked by a sensor and an LED flash. So when the user must take a photo or record a video, the motorized selfie camera pops up. On the back of the phone are dual cameras and an LED flash. The sensors and flash located inside a smaller display which function is to display notifications when the phone is folded. So, yes, we have three punch holes inside this much smaller secondary display.
Xiaomi has been accumulating patents for foldable phones but has not been launched yet. It showed us a working prototype of a phone with a flexible screen that can be folded twice earlier this year but there has been no news about launch. Samsung and Huawei should launch successors to their foldable devices next year. Samsung has even shared a teaser video of the upcoming phone, and it also has a vertically folding design like the Motorola Razr.
Unlike the Moto Razr, Xiaomi’s new foldable smartphone patent shows a pop-up selfie camera. The selfie camera setup includes a camera, a flash, and another unknown sensor that could help with face detection.