What to know

  • Huawei’s design patents indicate what its future foldable phones could look like. 
  • The patented designs indicate Huawei might experiment with the size, placement, and shape of their ring modules.
  • The clamshell-folding design is the same as it appears on Huawei Pocket 2. 

Huawei is no stranger to foldable phones. This year alone they’ve planned to launch three foldable phones and it doesn’t look like they’ll stop there. Recent reports indicate that Huawei has patented a few new designs for its future foldable phones and a quick look tells us the direction in which they’re headed. 

In all the patent designs, Huawei seems to have implemented the same clamshell-folding design as it appears on the latest Huawei Pocket 2, along with two circular modules – one for the cameras and one for the cover display. 

In the first set of patents, Huawei looks to be following a similar aesthetic but with different module placements. The patents reflect designs in which circular modules are placed vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, the last of which has rings of different sizes.

Although nothing can be confirmed by patent designs alone, one could assume the bigger module would be the cover display while the smaller module will house the cameras.  

In the second set of designs, the modules are placed similarly but instead have a square shape. 

Huawei’s designs are nothing if not bold, especially at a time when other companies are tilting towards bigger cover screen displays. In any case, these are only patents and do not in any way reflect the final designs that Huawei will adopt. As far as experiments are concerned, however, the designs are quite curious. But, perhaps, that’s how all initial experimental designs are. 

Huawei’s patented designs appear on the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and were first spotted by 91mobiles.