Xiaomi patented a bizarre, twisting smartphone

[midian182]

WTF?! Most people aren’t fans of smartphone notches, and that's led to several companies coming up with innovative designs that do away with cutouts. But a new patent from Xiaomi shows something we’ve never seen before: a twistable phone.

As reported by LetsGoDigital, the patent shows a phone with no notches, cutouts, or punch-holes. When users want to take a selfie, they twist the very top portion of the handset, including the screen, horizontally so that the rear cameras face the user.

Xiaomi filed the patent with the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) in the middle of last year, and it was approved on April 24, 2020. There appears to be an extra button on the side, which could be used to rotate the camera module.

The design brings a few questions. The patent shows how the screen contents and interface alter to match the new screen size when the camera is flipped, but it’s likely that there would be a line or noticeable crease running through the display. Xiaomi will probably hope that by the time the phone becomes a reality, assuming it ever does, technology will have advanced to the point where this won’t be an issue.

We’ve already seen companies use pop-up, flipping camera designs to keep screens notch-free, including Samsung’s Galaxy A80.

As with all patents, there’s no guarantee that the twisting design will ever appear on a consumer smartphone. If it does, the handset could find itself competing with under-display cameras, which look like a better way of avoiding notches. If rumors are true, we might see the in-screen tech appear in next year's Galaxy S handset.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/84995-xiaomi-patented-bizarre-twisting-smartphone.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Personally, I think Oppo and other manufacturers who built in a pop-up selfie camera had the best idea - until technology gets to the point the selfie cam can be hidden under a functional OLED display.

You don't regularly use the selfie cam all the time.

You also won't mind the larger space afforded to it when they add a very large megapixel camera.

I don't think I'd feel comfortable with a twisting display portion when this thing is in my pocket and being subjected to extreme torsional forces.

 

[redhat]

Remind me of N93

 

[Nobina]

I have a pop up camera and it's great, probably the best solution to hide a notch. The only slight downside is if you have face unlock it takes a second for camera to pop up and scan.

 

[psycros]

I don't get this obsession with creating bezel-less devices. All that does is make them even harder to use because you're constantly touching the screen while simply trying to hold the thing. Is there no one left in the design world that understands ergonomics?

 

[Lew Zealand]

So the screen is already broken into 2 pieces? Nice of the manufacturer to be proactive, taking the pressure off the user attempting to keep their display looking perfect.

 

[treetops]

Ah so you don't have to pay for a front and back camera. Makes sense.

 

[10thDmenxn]

Nothing about any of this makes sense. And nobody with a working brain wants ANYTHING from criminal China after the crap they've pulled. Unless of course they are a totally ignorant millennial. Why is TS still publishing anything promoting China or their companies???? How many people have to die before you people start to grasp the reality of this???