Xiaomi to embrace clamshell design for its foldable phone, new patent reveals

Xiaomi wants to join the foldable phone bandwagon as well. The company, however, isn't going to follow the Huawei Mate X or Samsung Galaxy Fold design but Motorola's Fold Razr. Xiaomi, however, will add its own touch to the design. According to new patents acquired by the company, we have a good idea how the Xiaomi foldable phone may work.

The patent, essentially sketches of the new phone, reveals a clamshell design. When the phone opens, it appears like any normal large-screen phone. The foldable phone has a fuller screen thanks to a pop-up camera module - which is seen even in the folded setup. The module also acts as a secondary display to show notifications such as call alerts. The folded setup seems far more complex than some of the foldable phones we've seen so far.

The design appears to be in line with some of the recent patents acquired or filed by Xiaomi. Just recently, Xiaomi patented design for a foldable phone with as many as five pop-up cameras. The sketches revealed the phone has ultra slim bezels and no notch.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi teased a foldable phone that was quite similar to Samsung's Galaxy Fold smartphone. A 51-second video revealed a rectangle screen (when opened fully) with MIUI software. The phone was then dubbed as Xiaomi Dual Flex or Mi Flex.

Looking at the recent leaks and patent design, Xiaomi is likely to go ahead with the clamshell design. Samsung is also adopting the same design with the Galaxy Fold 2, expected to launch in February next year.