A leaked patent has revealed that Xiaomi is exploring a new concept for a flip phone. According to the illustrations, the smartphone can fold like a regular flip phone, with its upper section capable of twisting clockwise.
It is no secret that Xiaomi is working on its own trifold smartphone. The news broke out after Huawei presented the first trifold smartphone in the market: the Huawei Mate XT. However, it seems Xiaomi is just aiming for more than that.
According to a leaked patent filed by China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), the company is also considering a flip phone with a different mechanism.
The images initially show a regular flip phone, which can fold conventionally. However, what’s interesting is that it is also capable of twisting clockwise.
It seems that it will be possible through the use of pins that will hold the two sections of the phone. It has not been revealed why Xiaomi is pushing the design, but it can be recalled that the old Nokia 6260 model also has this design. This allowed the Nokia phone to become an instant compact camera recorder, but this doesn’t seem to be the case with the Xiaomi phone in the patent. The said Nokia model had its camera lens on its side to allow the function, but the Xiaomi phone illustration shows that it doesn’t have it and that its camera lenses are still situated on the upper back. With this, it is unknown what specifically Xiaomi wants to do with the phone, albeit it remains an interesting concept for a flip device.
Yet, it is important to note that this remains a concept, and it is unknown if Xiaomi is already working on it or plans on starting it. If it is pushed, nonetheless, it could give the Chinese giant another step forward against its competitors in the flip phone market.