A video shows a smartphone prototype from the Chinese screen manufacturer BOE, with a 360-degree hinge and a screen that can fold in two directions. Current foldable smartphones can only fold in one direction.
The images are on Weibo as a gif and according to the Chinese website MyDrivers it is a product of screen manufacturer BOE. It can be seen that the screen can fold both open and closed. So far, only foldable smartphones have been released that can fold 180 degrees. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold models fold closed, so that the screen is on the inside when folded. With the Huawei Mate X variants, the screen is on the outside when the phone is folded into its smallest position.
BOE’s screen technology would make it possible to fold smartphones that fold in two directions. It is not clear whether and when the screens will be available to manufacturers. Chinese manufacturer BOE overtook Samsung Display as the largest supplier of smartphone screens last year, according to an analyst report reported by GizmoChina. BOE would have delivered a total of 408 million screens by 2020. Samsung Display was in second place with 370 million units.
BOE prototype. Source: gif on Weibo