While most smartphones over the past decade have followed a similar design – a flat rectangular shape – foldable phones have been introduced over the past six years, but they still struggle to become mainstream. Currently their market share is very low.
Another route to a different design is to use rollable or flexible screens. LG introduced its LG Rollable in 2020, and Oppo and Motorola have since explored similar ideas. Now, Honor appears to be venturing into this category as well with a new patent describing a rollable slider phone display, IT Home reports (via Neowin).
The patent, filed with the National Intellectual Property Office of China, describes an “elastic beam structure” and support structure for the display. The goal is to improve the user experience by reducing shock behind the screen.
In a nutshell, the idea is that the phone has two main parts. One is fixed while the other extends to one side, meaning it can transform from a rectangular phone to a tablet-like device.
“Spring beams” are used to connect the two displays together and ensure smooth operation. The patent “sliding screen support structure and electronic equipment” was filed on December 3.
National Intellectual Property Office of China
Rollable phones have been touted as a potential solution for the future, rather than the foldable phones that currently dominate innovation. However, various challenges remain.
Rollable screens can be more difficult to make completely flat, and the process of unrolling the screen takes longer than opening a foldable phone. Additionally, there are durability issues as the entire screen is susceptible to wear and tear.
Still, we'd love to try one and it will be interesting to see if Honor or a rival will be first to market (although probably in China first).
This article was originally published on our sister publication M3 and was translated and adapted from Swedish.
