Foldable smartphones with flexible displays are the next big trend that the leading consumer electronics manufacturers are pursuing. We know that Samsung will be at the forefront with its Galaxy Fold, but it is reasonable to expect that many others have something in the pipeline. The video you see below could show a Xiaomi foldable smartphone prototype in development.
To share the same Evan Blass on Twitter a moment ago, even if it is the first to admit that it cannot guarantee its authenticity. The display of the device is can be folded both the sides, turning the huge tablet-like screen to a small phone-like form factor. If this is real, this should be the world’s first dual-side foldable smartphone.
A weak indication of the producer’s identity comes from the video itself: by stopping it at the right time, you can see the word MIUI 10 with sufficient clarity.
Unfortunately, we have no other noteworthy information to share, but the fact that Xiaomi is engaged in this type of project is at least plausible. It was also showcased officially back in November last year in collaboration with Oppo. We look forward to more details.
Can’t speak to the authenticity of this video or device, but it’s allegedly made by Xiaomi, I’m told. Hot new phone, or gadget porn deepfake? pic.twitter.com/qwFogWiE2F
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 3, 2019
Actually, this is not a first foldable smartphone, the Chinese company called Royole had already announced the world’s first foldable phone named FlexPai at an event in China. The device was also officially listed on the company’s website, the handset is also the first smartphone to have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC coming into sales.
The handset comes in three variants, first with the 6GB RAM + 128GB of storage model is priced at CNY 8,999 – approximately $1,304, while the second model with 8GB RAM + 256GB storage version is priced at CNY 9,998 – approximately $1,449. Finally, the third high-end model with 8GB of RAM with 512GB storage costs CNY 12,999 – approximately 1,884.