Motorola has patented a flexible folding OLED clamshell phone in the style of the old RAZR
Next year there’s going to be some BIG announcements in the mobile space, and those big announcements are going to be about flexible and folding OLED smartphones with dynamic, shifting form factors.
The main handset on everyone’s lips is the Samsung Galaxy F (formerly the Galaxy X). Samsung has been researching and developing flexible OLED tech for nearly a decade now and is far ahead of everyone else in the industry.
However, it’s not the only phone maker with its eyes on the flexible OLED prize. Several Chinese OEMs are also working on flexible OLED devices, and have been for a little while now. Phone makers such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and Oppo are all said to have devices being prepped for 2019, as well as rivals closer to home for Samsung, such as LG, which also is quite far along in the OLED R&D investment.
Whether the Chinese phone makers would be able to source their own flexible OLED, or would be forced to buy them from Samsung or LG – the latter being tipped previously – remains to be seen.
Motorola RAZR Returns!
But a new challenger enters the fray with word that Motorola (part of Chinese firm Lenovo) may be seeking to revive the RAZR flip-phone brand with a folding and flexible OLED-base design to facilitate the clamshell style.
The evidence comes via Slashgear and Dutch language site Mobielkopen.net which show patent filings, complete with detailed diagrams, of a new-gen RAZR-branded phone.
While as always, patent filings should be taken with a grain of salt, and are highly subject to change if they ever reach fruition, it’s still interesting to see Motorola’s possible planning at this stage.
Motorola RAZR Release Date – Maybe 2020?
It’s worth noting that even though a number of debut flexible OLED devices are queuing up for launch in 2019, many of these, even Samsung’s Galaxy F, will be testbed products with a limited release. Don’t expect such devices to become mainstream until at least 2020. This is where Motorola’s new RAZR might come in, as it is likely in the very early stages of development.
