Foldable

The Microsoft Surface Duo is a rather unique Android device as it joins 2 displays via a hinge. However, it has become associated with poor durability following testing from some prominent YouTubers. Now, it seems these findings are translating into real-world problems for some users, who claim the plastic frames of their Duos have developed cracks around the USB type C port.

Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold series may be among the best-known of hinged devices out there. Now, a new patent reportedly filed by the OEM and published by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) in October 2020 shows a way to bring even more attention to this feature. It involves the placement of a light-up strip along the middle of the component.

Samsung is touting its new Galaxy Z Fold2 as an especially durable flexible-display device thanks to its updated hinge design and the ultra-thin glass (or UTG) that covers its main 7.6-inch screen. The YouTube channel JerryRigEverything (JRE) encountered this part of the premium device to a destructive extent during its obligatory teardown.

The popular electronics destruction-testing YouTube channel JerryRigEverything has gotten Samsung's latest flagship foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold2, in for a durability test. The resulting video might prove that the OEM has improved on its robustness compared to last year's model. Then again, there were some surprising discrepancies, especially considering this phone's starting price.

The Huawei Mate X series consists of outward-folding premium smartphones. It is rumored to get a new addition in 2020 that may come with a re-done design. A device newly submitted to the Wi-Fi Alliance by the OEM is thought to be this possibly upcoming flagship.

The Galaxy W20 is a variation of Samsung's Galaxy Fold released as a Chinese-market exclusive with 5G. Now, it seems it is getting a successor in the coming months. The OEM has certified a new device with a model number likely to match such a device with the regulator 3C.

LG has previously teased or showcased devices with rollable displays. Now, its latest patent, approved by the US Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO) in September 2020, may show the OEM's latest take on the technology. It is a box housing a display that can be unfurled horizontally and be used as a drawing device.

Chinese company Royole has officially launched the Flexpai 2, its foldable smartphone competitor to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 and the Huawei Mate X. The new device boasts powerful performance and unique display characteristics.

Another Xiaomi patent has surfaced and this latest one is for a multiple fold flexible smartphone/tablet hybrid. The Chinese OEM has chosen to grace this concept device with two folds, leading it to be dubbed the Xiaomi Mi Z Fold by some sites. The foldable smartphone has some issues though, including its obvious thickness when folded.

Although repairing the dual-display Microsoft Surface Duo can easily turn into a nightmare and it is not an easy task even for experienced people, the good news is that this piece of hardware is quite unlikely to break. According to the JerryRigEverything's torture test, the Surface Duo is surprisingly rugged.

iFixit has posted its dissembly video for Samsung's latest flagship foldable device. The Galaxy Z Fold2 fared better than other phones with hinges that have featured recently on the same YouTube channel. On the other hand, it could have scored higher on its reparability scale.

The Royole FlexPai 2 has reached the TENAA and AnTuTu, shortly before its release on September 21. The foldable smartphone will have a 7.8-inch AMOLED screen, a Snapdragon 865 chipset and up to 12 GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage.

The renders are based on the specs leaked by industry insider Jon Prosser and depict the foldable iPhone featuring an inner display that consists of two hingeless screens similar to the Microsoft Surface Duo design. Artist theHacker34 also lists some specs that are probably on his wishlist, as no other source has mentioned some of these.

The Surface Duo may have spent a long time in development, but that did not make the dual-display smartphone any more repairable than other Surface products. The displays and glass panels can be removed without taking apart any other components, but that is about as good as it gets for the Surface Duo.

Display panels that can fold and unfold regularly without damage will probably play a growing role in the electronics of the future. BOE is one company involved in their development and production. Its latest milestone in this endeavor is a panel type it has been working on that can bend with a radius of as little as 5 millimeters (mm), which can now reportedly be made in bulk.

The Surface Duo is now available. Microsoft's dual-screen Android phone has been hotly anticipated, but early reviews suggest the device needs a bit more time to bake; while the design is good, the software is buggy. The phone starts at US$1399.

Motorola is scheduled to launch its refreshed Razr 2020 later today (September 9, 2020). However, it is already out there in the form of YouTube hands-on and first impressions by prominent tech influencers. Furthermore, Roland Quandt of WinFuture claims to have learned its entire spec list by now.

Official renders of the LG Wing have leaked ahead of its launch next week thanks to Evan Blass. The images show the device from behind for the first time revealing a rear camera array that is quite similar in appearance to the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 line.

LG has shared a teaser video for its upcoming smartphone, the so-called LG Wing. The device will debut on September 14 with a completely new form factor that twists out to reveal a secondary display. The T-design smartphone may retail for upwards of US$1,000, though.

Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G foldable smartphone, which seeks address most of the shortcomings of the original Fold. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 will only be available in a Snapdragon 865+ version and comes with an improved CAM hinge, larger Cover Screen display, better usage and photography flexibility, and improved multitasking. One thing that is unchanged from the Fold, however, is the premium pricing that the Galaxy Z Fold 2 commands.

Today (September 1, 2020), Samsung has launched the Galaxy Z Fold2 5G for a number of markets worldwide, Germany included. This means we finally get to find out how the premium device is priced in various different regions. The new foldable has a recommended price of over €1900, in one European country at least.

Samsung has captivated some tech enthusiasts with its Galaxy Z Flip neo-clamshell phone, the second of its kind to be foldable. Now, a different mobile device company, OPPO, has designed one much like it, but in reverse. Its screen is on the outside, with a sensor that detects the angle at which it is unfolded.

The release of the ThinkPad X1 Fold, Lenovo's first foldable laptop, draws closer. Now, the company claims that the X1 Fold will arrive this fall, although this could mean anywhere from September to December.

We haven't even found out when exactly the new Galaxy Z Fold 2 is going to be available, yet rumors about other upcoming foldable models are already circulating on Twitter. Details are quite skimpy, but it looks like Samsung plans to finally add S Pen support on next year's flagship foldable, while the highly anticipated sub-US$1,000 model is supposed to integrate a cheaper screen protective layer. Moreover, there apparently is another model, which is getting a screen that folds both inwards and outwards.

A recent leak has pointed to an upcoming Samsung foldable that may be more affordable than its predecessors. This rumor now gains more weight due to the fact that the Wi-Fi Alliance has registered a device with its alleged model number. This new leak may also point to specs that may indeed render it the foldable for (more of) the masses.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G will launch for the first time on September 1, 2020. However, any remaining mystique around this second-gen flexible-display phablet may have been disspelled by what looks convincingly like a leaked ad for the device. It indicates that the Z Fold2 has a 120Hz refresh rate, but with an increasingly familiar caveat.

Foldables are the latest and most expensive forms of trendy mobile devices in existence. The blog SamMobile claims to have heard of a new, "budget" iteration of this tech from Samsung. It may have relatively low internal storage options and more color SKUs compared to the Galaxy Z Fold2 or Z Flip 5G.

Even equipped with only 6 GB of RAM, the Surface Duo manages to beat Samsung's Galaxy Fold and Z Flip models, and for reference, it also beats the Exynos version of the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Now, the launch version of the Surface Duo is expected to get 8 GB of RAM, so we could be seeing further performance gains.

Nubia launched its second-generation flexible display watch in China at the start of August 2020, and it has been exclusive to that market since. Now, however, the OEM has broadened its availability by making it a reward on a Kickstarter campaign. It has attracted nearly 7 times its original goal at this point.

The Galaxy Z Fold2 is Samsung's second-generation book-form flexible tablet. It is slated to launch in the US on September 1, 2020, followed by a debut in China eight days later. The device has appeared on the database of the regulator TENAA ahead of this event.

The rumours were true; Motorola will be unveiling a new Razr smartphone this year. The follow-up to the Razr 2019 will arrive on September 9 and is rumoured to feature a Snapdragon 765G SoC, meaning that it will also support 5G connectivity. A higher-resolution main camera is apparently due too, but the Razr 2020 5G will probably stick to the design of its predecessor.

The rise of ultra-expensive foldable devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, Motorola Razr, and Apple’s rumoured iPhone/iPad hybrid underline a greater issue with the smartphone industry on the whole: the lack of genuine innovation and an inertia to move beyond a format that’s becoming less suited to meet the needs of today’s connected audiences.

Tipster @komiya_kj shared rather remarkable specs for a purported upcoming Apple foldable product. The foldable will evidently fill the gap between the iPad and iPhone by folding out into tablet form and folding into smartphone form. The Apple foldable reportedly features an A16X SoC, microLED tech, and phone call support.

E Ink has demonstrated the latest working prototype of its foldable display technology. The device also supports note taking via a stylus and points to what could be the near future for e-reading devices.

Leaked marketing renders have offered a closer look at the Surface Duo, Microsoft's long-awaited foldable device. While Microsoft exited the smartphone market four years ago, the bezels on the Surface Duo feel like the company never left. If that was not enough of a throwback, then the Surface Duo may be exclusive to AT&T in the US too.

The Mi Mix series is a line of premium devices marked by experimental features in the works at the smartphone OEM Xiaomi. For example, its Alpha variant has a stand-out wrap-around display. However, the company's CEO, Lei Jun, has just dashed hopes of it ever coming to market, let alone any kind of new Mix generation in 2020.

An internal Google document has been leaked and ended up in the hands of 9to5Google. Sensationally, it reveals the codenames of forthcoming devices thought to be the Pixel 5a, Pixel 5 and Pixel 6 XL, but also explicitly mentions a Pixel foldable could be here as soon as Q4 2021.

Samsung had been slated to debut 5 different devices at its major showcase that took place today (August 5, 2020). However, the last of these to appear, the Galaxy Z Fold2, was introduced rather than launched. Nevertheless, there was an in-depth look at some of its updated flexible tech, as well as a premiere special guest-star unboxing.

Motorola's second-generation foldable is thought to migrate to a 5G SoC rather than the Snapdragon 710 found in its predecessor. Now, a new live image posted to Weibo may confirm the differences in looks between the two. It is by no means a substantial redesign, yet shows some refinements in the newer model.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is a first-gen bendable phablet with a possible successor that is now thought to be called the Z Fold2 5G on its launch. A prominent leaks blog claims to have the latest renders on this device. These all-angle images may confirm a new design and an improved main screen for the ultra-premium foldable.

Microsoft has confirmed, albeit indirectly, that its eagerly anticipated dual-screen Surface Neo has been delayed. Following a blog post that indicated Windows 10X would debut first on single-screen devices, it became clear that plans for Windows 10X for dual-screen devices would be pushed back. However, it was only in the past day or so that Microsoft removed the “Coming Holiday 2020” timeline from the device’s webpage.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has announced that there will be a Consumer Electronics Show (CES) scheduled for January 2021. However, it will not be held in Las Vegas as usual: instead, an "all-digital" experience is planned to replace the usual physical event. However, the Association is still confident it will be worthwhile for exhibitors and e-attendees alike.

Tipster @evleaks outed renders for the upcoming Motorola Razr 5G (or “Razr Odyssey”). The upcoming foldable smartphone offers little in the way of design improvements over the existing Motorola Razr, with a very similar screen layout. However, rumors indicate that the Razr 5G will get a Snapdragon 765 SoC and a 48MP camera.

The Microsoft Surface Duo has passed through the Bluetooth SIG and FCC, signalling its imminent release. The dual-screen device would be Microsoft's first smartphone since the Lumia 650, which the company released over four years ago. However, the Surface Duo appears to be running on last-gen hardware.

Samsung had let it be known that 5 devices would be unveiled at its August 5, 2020 Galaxy Unpacked event. The OEM's fans may have expected the Galaxy Z Flip 5G to be one of them. However, the Korean giant has now introduced this device. It seems to be a Snapdragon 865 Plus refresh of the original foldable clamshell.

"One fold, infinite possibilities". That is the tagline for Samsung's latest promotional tweet on the subject of its next major product launch. Accordingly, it may be a strong hint that a successor to the first-gen Galaxy Fold will have a place in this August 2020 show.

The well-known display supply-chain commenter Ross Young has released a projection in which foldable devices with ultra-thin glass (UTG) protection easily outdoes the first-gen Galaxy Fold (which has a polymer-coated display) in terms of sales in 2020 and onward. Accordingly, the leaker now believes that Apple will also go with UTG in its own eventual foldable devices.

XDA’s Max Weinbach has more bad news for Samsung fans groaning at the possibility the new Galaxy Note 20 could be lumped with the Exynos 990. Now Weinbach says that Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 2 will be a no show at the upcoming August 5 Galaxy Unpacked Event as had been expected.

Samsung has confirmed that its next Galaxy Unpacked event will take place on August 5. The event, the first from the company to be held online only, will be streaming from 10 a.m. ET where it is expected that the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2 will debut.

Huawei has filed a trademark application with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) for the name Mate V. This would be an adroit term for, say, a device that can fold like a book in the current Galaxy Fold style. Therefore, the term may hint at such an upcoming phablet from this OEM.