With foldable phones attracting all the attention
recently, ZTE is keen to be a part of what is possibly the next big thing. The
company filed in a patent for a phone that folds vertically similarly to
Motorolla’s alleged 2019 RAZR. More interestingly, the patent shows that the device will fold
inwards, but not in the middle as the upper half of the flexible screen appears
shorter.
There is no physical cutout for a selfie camera so
it remains to be seen how the company plans to implement that feature. There
are two buttons on the right side, presumably for volume and power controls as
well as a sim tray. On the back, we can see the camera setup, while the bottom
features two symmetrical cutouts and what appears to be a USB-C port.
ZTE is no stranger to the foldable smartphone game
as it pioneered the design with its Axon M back in October 2017. At that point
the technology clearly wasn't there yet though, which combined with the
company's temporary ban in the US led to the failure of that phone.
In December 2018, ZTE published another patent
showing a device similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Fold so it remains to be seen if
the company will employ both designs or is just keeping its options open.
