Smartphones are evolving day by day the size of the devices is getting shorter, but the displays are getting bigger, the devices are getting lighter, but the performance is getting bulkier. For a lot of years, the foldable screens are in the news, and mostly Samsung is attributed with the foldable screen smartphones due to many concept phone rumors and speculations that were brought to the surface, but we never got our hands on such a device. However, the newer rumors are suggesting that the biggest Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei wants to launch their device with a foldable display ahead of its Android arch-rival Samsung and according to reports, we can see the smartphone as early as the start of the next year.
A Nikkei report in China this week revealed Huawei’s efforts on building a smartphone with foldable display the time of the news break is crucial too since Samsung Display just announced its upcoming display had been certified for being extra tough and durable. But Huawei wants to make it quickly by using the OLED panels from Chinese supplier BOE, and according to the analyst, they will make only a handful handsets so that they can hit the release deadline. BOE has already started making the foldable displays, and one such example can be seen in the video below.
Huawei is a company that is known for rushing its production of the technology ahead of the competition for example in 2015 the famous rumor was the Sapphire display in the coming iPhone Huawei went ahead made a limited-edition Huawei Ascend P7 Sapphire and Apple dropped the idea afterwards same was the case with the forced touch technology Huawei produced the Mate S limited edition phone with forced touch ahead of Apple’s iPone 6s. So, for Huawei making the foldable device ahead of the competition will not be a new thing they have done it in the past, but this time around the problem at hand is much complex.
A foldable display will require intense software optimizations because the software should be polished in such a way that the altering screen size is no hurdle for it. Furthermore, since the technology is new and the folding screen would also require space, packing it in the sleek shell will be difficult, and we also need room for other components too which will make the device thicker and heavier, and many other problems can rise too. I know I should not expect the first device to be perfect, but these concerns should be kept in mind if the device in its manufacturing stage. Lastly, when the Verge tried to reach out to Huawei spokesperson on the matter he said, “We don’t comment on rumors, speculation or future roadmaps.”