Foldable phones are super trendy right now, with Samsung and Huawei already introducing foldables and companies like Motorola and Xiaomi teasing that they've got foldable devices in the works. Now it looks like we can add another name to the list of companies interested in foldables.
Google has filed for a patent for a foldable display device. Spotted by Patently Mobile, the patent describes a "computing device" with an OLED display that "can be configured to be bent repeatedly to a radius of less than 10mm." You can see some of the drawings included with the patent filing above and below.
Interestingly, the patent filing also mentions a foldable device with a Z-fold that folds in two different places. Making a sturdy version of this design is "greatly complicated by the fragility of the thin-film layers in the display stack," says Google.
This patent filing suggests that Google is at least interested in foldable phones, but it's no guarantee that the company will actually launch a foldable device. The foldables category is pretty trendy right now, though, and Google is adding foldable support to Android, including with the upcoming Android Q release. So if the foldables category does take off, Google could jump in.
Do you have any interest in foldable phones?
