Your next phone may fold like a book – The Wall Street Journal

DUBLIN – A while ago I upgraded my phone from a 4-inch screen to a 5.5-inch screen. It made a really huge difference to my experience using my phone. On the smaller phone, I never watched video and rarely played games – I preferred to consume visual content like that on my tablet. But with the bigger screen, suddenly my phone became a feasible option for viewing video and gaming. So I admit to being intrigued by the possibility of a foldable phone. Having a phone that could fold up or roll up would make it possible to have an even bigger screen while still having a device that could fit in a pocket or handbag. And a bigger screen would make the phone even more useful – it would make working on documents or even spreadsheets significantly more pleasant and practical, not to mention further enhancing the appeal of video and game content. In fact, with a few adjustments to phone operating systems, foldable phones with much larger screens and text input accessories (keyboards or something similar) would be a viable replacement for laptops, which remain the best way to work on the go. I, for one, am ready for the foldable future. – Felicity Duncan.Smartphone Makers Seek Foldable Phones With Flex Appeal.By Dan Strumpf.(The Wall Street Journal) HONG KONG—Mobile phone makers think they have a solution to slowing sales: smartphones with big displays that fold up like books..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.At least five of the world's leading sellers of phones, including Apple Inc.,have sought patents for folding models, which would mark the biggest design change to the flat rectangular slabs that have been ubiquitous since the dawn of the smartphone era a decade ago. At least two companies— Samsung Electronics Co. and Huawei Technologies Co.—have confirmed plans to release handsets with foldable displays; Huawei is targeting a release for next year..Smartphone companies see such an innovation as necessary to arrest a sales slowdown tied in part to a lengthening cycle of device replacement. These days, consumers see less of a need to upgrade for incremental annual improvements in software, screen quality and camera capability..In addition, creating displays that are larger but don't take up much space in a purse or pocket takes on urgency as service providers roll out next-generation 5G wireless networks, accelerating a boom in consumption of video, virtual reality and other visually engaging media..First, though, smartphone makers must overcome some challenges, such as developing a device flexible enough to fold in half that doesn't sacrifice display quality and durability. Other hurdles include supply-chain limitations for the required materials, higher building costs and the ultimate commercial question: Will consumers want these phones?."It will take several years to persuade consumers that these foldable phone factors will bring you good benefits, a better experience," said Jusy Hong, a smartphone analyst at IHS Markit. Regardless, "the smartphone market has matured, and we need something new.".In 2017, shipments of smartphones fell 1% to 1.47 billion units, the first full-year decline in history, according to IDC, a market research firm that tracks display manufacturers..Since the first iPhone was launched in 2007, handsets have gotten a lot more advanced in terms of performance and software, but the basic look has remained the same. Innovations like the edge-to-edge screen display, which is now the standard for high-end devices including the iPhone X, haven't altered the underlying design..That stasis is in contrast to the early days of the cellphone, when models came in many shapes and sizes, from sliding phones to "clamshell" models that snapped open and shut, as well as others that featured actual keyboards..Last year, Chinese device maker ZTE Corp. released a phone with a folding display called the Axon M. The device, which featured two screens separated by a hinge, sold poorly and the display was panned by critics..According to patent filings, phone companies have cooked up different designs to make the technology work. In March, Huawei filed a patent application for a smartphone with a continuous screen on a book-like hinge. Apple has filed a series of patent applications for a folding device, including one that has a sketch for a device that collapses into a Z-shaped stack. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment..Chinese rivals Oppo Electronics Corp., Vivo Electronics Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd. have sought patents with local authorities for devices that close like a book or a billfold. And Samsung is planning to introduce a device with a folding screen early next year, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal in July..Spokesmen for Oppo and Vivo declined to comment. A Lenovo spokesman said the company "cannot disclose detailed information." A Samsung spokesman said "at this time, we don't have anything to share about future devices.".At present, only a few firms are capable of building highly technical foldable displays. They include the display-making division of Samsung and LG Display Co., as well as China's BOE Technology Co. said Anabelle Hsu, senior research manager at IDC..BOE is working with Huawei on its foldable device, according to a person familiar with the matter..Foldable phones require a display panel different from those found on most smartphones. While most smartphones use a type of liquid crystal display, or LCD, a folding device will likely use a more flexible active-matrix organic light-emitting diode, or AMOLED, display, industry analysts said. The technology, already used for the iPhone X and Samsung's Galaxy S phones, is more expensive than LCD..The material is also more difficult to source. Samsung's display-making division supplies 95% of smartphone AMOLED displays in use today, said IHS's Mr Hong..The foldable screen also must be durable enough to open and close repeatedly over a phone's lifetime. In addition, such phones may require a more powerful battery and a significant reworking of the device's inner hardware to accommodate the redesign..And then there's the selling price. Although many shoppers no longer balk at $1,000 price tags for high-end smartphones, Mr Hong expects the first generation of foldable devices to retail for almost double that..The market for folding phones remains uncertain, as devices with big displays are already widely available in the form of tablets and tabletlike PCs. And as concerns about excessive gadget use grow, it isn't clear if consumers will continue to embrace ever-flashier attention-hogging devices.."It seems inevitable that companies will be trying different things until somebody hits the right hot button," said Stephen Temple, a visiting professor at the University of Surrey in the U.K., who has collected mobile-phone designs over the years..—Zhou Wei contributed to this article..Write to Dan Strumpf at daniel.strumpf@wsj.com

Your next phone may fold like a book – The Wall Street Journal

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