These are foldable phones that will define the MWC 2019

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Foldable phones are almost there, but beware of all renderings that are flying on the web right now. Spoiler alert: they are not real. In a few days, we will begin to have real and concrete time with foldable smartphones from Samsung, Huawei and more. In the meantime, here are the folding phones to expect in 2019 and what we know so far.

Samsung "Galaxy X"

The first consumer smartphone we will see in 2019 is coming soon. Internet bets that it's going to be called the Samsung Galaxy X (or failing that, the Galaxy F or the Galaxy Fold), and Samsung itself is involved in an obvious word game when & # 39; 39 he included the line "The future of mobile will unveil on February 20, 2019" to accompany a teaser video on his YouTube channel .In other words, it will be officially unveiled at from Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, Wednesday, February 20. Meanwhile, we expect to see the Samsung Galaxy S10, the S10 + and a new Galaxy Watch.

First of all, this is the way it folds: there is a smaller screen on the front of the device, then it unfolds as if you unfold a book to open a larger screen, size of a tablet, inside, with the first screen now on the back. (Just look at the very fast appearance in the video marketing).

We have not yet confirmed specifications for screens – various industry sources have suggested that we would see a 7.3 inch larger folding screen. This corresponds to the AMOLED technology of Infinity Flex that Samsung is working on since 2011. It is likely that the resolution will be about 1,532 x 2,152, which corresponds to 360ppi – not as high as the current crop of high-end phones, but a very decent start. The original prototype had a 6% loss of brightness at the folded center of the screen. It has also been designed to withstand 100,000 folds.

To give you an idea of the relationship between this and the life span, an average person in Britain uses his phone 28 times a day. This means that if you stick to this use, by flipping the Galaxy X every time, this screen will be good for a little less than 10 years – much longer than anyone who keeps his phone before upgrading it. So, if the resistance tests are checked, the longevity of this screen should not be a problem, hopefully.

Again, according to rumors that may not be 100% accurate, as expected, the Galaxy X will arrive with two batteries of 3100 mAh, 512 GB of RAM and dual SIM support.

There is no indication of price or release date yet. More importantly, if someone can mass-produce millions of these items, thus reviving the category, it's about Samsung.

Huawei 'Mate Flex'

Shortly after the Samsung event, Huawei will follow with his MWC conference on February 24th. He also teased a folding phone / display with his invitation images published on Twitter. The light of the device shown in the illustration indicates that the largest screens the size of a tablet (possibly 8 inches) folds in the middle to turn into two screens the size from a smartphone, to the front and to the back. This is not confirmed, but if that were the case, it would be a very different approach than what Samsung does.

The name "Huawei Mate Flex" has been used, but nothing says that the phone will be named. Huawei has already registered the following model names: Mate Flex, Mate F, Mate Fold and Mate Flexi.

All that Huawei has 100% confirmed is that it will launch a phone with a foldable screen and support the 5G. Huawei's chairman, Richard Yu, told a meeting of investors in Beijing in January.

Xiaomi 'Dual Flex'

Xiaomi's first foray into folding phones is just as exciting and disappointing. Interesting because the prototype of the video published by Weibo, president of Xiaomi, is the best look we have had on any of these devices in action. Disappointing because the efforts of Samsung and Huawei are not ready to be launched. Xiaomi will be at the MWC and, like Huawei, he will also hold a press conference on February 24, although he is far from certain that his foldable phone will be examined.

Xiaomi is still using another tactic to determine how the screen will fall back. The video shows a screen with two folds on each side – yes, this is a foldable dual phone with screens that fold behind the main and central screen and a user interface that responds instantly. Xiaomi says the prototype of the video is not the end device.

There have been questions about how Xiaomi has developed this technology – we suggest not scrolling through YouTube videos of folding phones. Xiaomi released this statement to LetsGoDigital: "The dual-tap phone is the latest innovation from Xiaomi. One of the key components of the phone, the flexible folding screen, is co-developed by Xiaomi and its supply chain partner. In addition to the screen, we are developing its design, folding mechanism and MIUI adaptation. "

It is believed that the names considered are Xiaomi Dual Flex and Xiaomi Mix Flex.

Royole FlexPai

It's always fun to attack the underdog. Here is something different: a foldable phone already available for purchase. If you are in China, it is. The Chinese flexible display company Royole beat Samsung, Huawei and others by launching the FlexPai phone at CES 2019 in January.

This is the same folding mechanism that we expect from Huawei – a larger, tablet-sized screen – in this case, a 7.8-inch Cicadia Flex display developed by Royole – which folds in the middle to present two smaller screens of 4 inches. smartphone screens. In extended mode, the FlexPai's screen resolution is 1,920 x 1,440 (306ppi) and its 4: 3 ratio.

There is a battery of 3 970mAh, a 16MP and 20MP dual camera configuration, a fingerprint sensor on the side. It runs under Water OS (based on Android 9 Pie) and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor at 2.84 GHz. It has been tested to withstand 200,000 wrinkles, double that of the Galaxy X.

Despite some pretty impressive specs, first impressions indicate that the Royole phone has a long way to go to become a viable product. For example, it does not fit in an ordinary pocket and does not fold flat. Nevertheless, it is an interesting start and an allusion to Royole's broader ambitions for foldable and flexible display. The Royole FlexPai costs 8999 yuan in China, just over £ 1,000.

ZTE Nubia phone

The latest addition to the foldable phone clan will be the next ZTE device in Nubia, to be unveiled at the MWC. He released a teaser image with the words "Flex Your Life" and considering the launch of a folding dual-screen phone (with space between screens in the hinge), the ZTE Axon M, last year, ZTE is clearly very useful on board the trend.

It should also be noted that ZTE had a nubia-a (or Alpha) flexible wrist model that could be worn with a phone, featuring a curved OLED display based on ZTE's proprietary Flex technology.

Future foldable phones

Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi and Royole are the main players to watch, but some rumors and statements of intent have proliferated around foldable phone screens and phones themselves.

On the one hand, the series of Motorola RAZR flip phones could make a comeback in the form of a foldable phone, according to a patent filed by the US Patent and Trademark Office and some Wall Street Journal reports. Now owned by Lenovo, Motorola would work on a smaller and more portable device than most other phone makers. Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing told TechRadar, "Thanks to new technologies, especially foldable screens, I think you will see more and more innovations in the design of our smartphones."

LG is another brand to watch. After unveiling a roll-up TV at CES, an executive confirmed to Tom's Guide that it works on both foldable and foldable smartphones. A patent from LG also shows a device with two screens and an extra curved screen on the fold – we would not be surprised if this was the final design, though.

You may be wondering if we could see Apple soon release a collapsible iPhone / iPad hybrid. It is highly unlikely that we will see one in 2019, even though Apple has been granted patents for foldable and collapsible displays. There is also another credible online rumor that Apple could use LG's foldable display technology in a future iPhone.

According to rumors, Oppo is developing a similar folding display technology for smartphones, with various patents filed, but no concrete indication can be expected of anything this year.