TL;DR
- OPPO’s director of foldable phones just showed off a triple-screen folder that he suggests could launch soon.
- The social media message has since been taken down, though, raising questions about the company’s plans.
Believe it or not, triple-screen foldable phones are happening. And we don’t just mean “the tech’s been demoed behind closed doors at a trade show,” but that there’s actually a big-name manufacturer talking about launching one in the very near future, with a HUAWEI exec appearing to confirm his company’s tri-screen foldable plans late last week. And just the other day, TECNO followed up with triple-screen folding news of its own. Those may not be the only companies embracing this futuristic-looking form factor, as we check out a teaser from OPPO.
Earlier today, Zhou Yibao, the director of OPPO’s foldable phone division, posted a message to the Chinese social platform Weibo with the render you see here (via GSMArena). Zhou says that OPPO’s been working on triple-screen folders like this for the past couple years, producing lots of concept designs. And while OPPO making lots of intriguing concept devices that do interesting things with their screen tech isn’t anything new, Zhou suggests here that this one is actually going to become a commercial product.
Translated, his message claims that once OPPO finishes up a few other launches it’s working on, this new foldable should be next in line for a formal reveal. That sounds really promising… until we notice that Zhou’s post has since been deleted from his Weibo feed.
What can we read into that action? It’s possible OPPO’s comms team had specific plans for handling this reveal, and maybe Zhou’s post stole a bit of that thunder. Or maybe other execs aren’t quite willing to commit right now to the sort of timeframe Zhou’s message communicated. Considering his seniority, it’s unlikely that we’re dealing with anything smelling remotely like a hoax here, and the devil’s probably just in the details of how this phone’s launch is being communicated.
Between HUAWEI, TECNO, and now OPPO, you could have a triple-screen foldable phone in your hands before you know it. Are you looking forward to that kind of massive screen real estate, all in your pocket? Or are current foldables more than big enough for your tastes? Let us know in the comments.
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