This patent was spotted by IT Home, and it was submitted in China. What’s also interesting is that this flexible display covers the phone’s body when it’s attached. That’s not all, though, as something even more interesting was mentioned.
New Xiaomi patent details a foldable smartphone with a detachable display
Now, it seems like that display remains functional when it’s detached from the main body. IT Home mentions something called a “wireless communication module”. So, it can basically remain operational, as it has its own battery, or perhaps the battery detaches as well? That’s something we don’t know at this point. The source did not mention the battery at all, and this patent probably doesn’t disclose the details. Only the general functionality of the device is explained, while Xiaomi submitted one sketch as well. That sketch is shown below.
This device does sound very interesting, though, that’s hard to deny. It remains to be seen whether Xiaomi will ever make a product based on this, though. It’s just a patent, and we all know that OEMs tend to submit tons of design patents, most of which never get made.
This design would certainly attract consumers
This would certainly be something unique, though, something that would attract consumers. For its innovation, if nothing else, though this could have a practical use as well, of course. We’ve seen some attempts at modular smartphones throughout the years, such as the ASUS PadFone, and the LG G5. Those are just some base examples, there were more, of course. What we’ve never seen is a modular foldable smartphone, and this design patent basically details one such device. We may hear more about this product in the future, we may not, just don’t expect it to launch anytime soon. Xiaomi has several additional foldable phones planned for 2022, but this is not one of them.