Kris Carlon / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Huawei could be the company behind rumors of an innovative three-screen foldable phone design.
- The incredibly thin hardware would unfold to give users an inner display measuring 10 inches.
- Samsung is supposedly in no place to catch up to HUAWEI’s lead on thinner and thinner foldables.
Folding-screen smartphones are striking examples of modern engineering, and that they even exist on a retail level is some kind of remarkable. Over the past decade-plus, we’ve seen companies demonstrate all manner of folding, rolling, expanding, and contracting screen technologies, but there’s a big difference between showing off a neat idea, and making it commercially viable. Rumors are currently looking at what just might be the next phase of folding phone evolution, with reports of the world’s first “triple folding screen” prototype.
Industry source Digital Chat Station claims on Weibo to have recently had the opportunity to check out a new triple-screen folder prototype. While they don’t directly identify the company behind it, rumors have previously discussed the possibility of Huawei producing such a phone — an idea that gains support from leaker Ice Universe on X.
What do we mean by “triple folding screen?” Basically, it sounds like we’re talking about a horizontal-style folder (think Fold, not Flip) that has two creases, instead of one, ultimately partitioning the display surface into thirds. DCS mentions both inner and outer folding for the hinges, which sounds like we might be looking at more of a Z shape than a traditional billfold design.
The key to the whole project is supposedly HUAWEI’s growing skill at crafting exceptionally thin folding-phone hardware. After all, every additional fold makes your hardware thicker, and if your engineering isn’t up to the challenge, that promises to get unwieldy, fast.
Fully unfolded, we’re told to expect a screen size of around 10 inches — significantly larger than the 7.6-inch Galaxy Z Fold 5 (and the just-about-to-launch Fold 6) or HUAWEI’s own 7.5-inch Mate X3. Will all that extra space lead to increased mobile productivity? If it’s truly pocketable, that’s a real possibility, but so far we haven’t heard any specific measurements as to just how thick this triple-screen folder might arrive.
If these reports indeed pan out, Samsung could find itself at a serious disadvantage in the foldables market. As the company has worked to refine its own designs, industry watchers accuse it of not prioritizing thinness enough (despite those Z Fold 6 “slim” rumors), leaving HUAWEI with this opportunity to step up.
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