Motorola foldable phone patent shows a reverse Razr with an outer screen
One we hope doesn’t see the light of day
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We haven’t seen a new Motofolding phonesince the 2020Motorola Razr, and while we’re hoping for a newRazr for 2022, we don’t know for sure it’s coming. In the meantime though, a new patent from the company shows us a foldable that we really hope won’t be the next Razr.
Motorola has been granted a patent for a new type of clamshell foldable, as spotted byMySmartPrice, which shows a large main display that’s on the outside of the phone, not the inside, when it’s folded.
The rest of the patent details the folding hinge, and it also shows a large bump that presumably houses the rear cameras.
It’s a futuristic-looking device, even compared to other foldable phones we’ve seen on the market, but that’s probably because it’s a patent sketch.
Patents don’t show that a phone is coming to market, only that a company is considering a certain design or feature, so let’s wait to see if this device ever does see the light of day. Saying that, we hope it doesn’t…
Analysis: a dangerous design
Foldable phones are fragile at the best of times - with their flexing display and moving components, they’re usually one or two drops away from a dangerous smash.
That’s doubly the case when the screen - the one thing you really don’t want to get scratched or marked - is on the outside. The whole model is wrapped in its most fragile part.
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We’ve seen this in phones before, with theHuawei Mate Xs, and that too was scary to use - you’re always worried that simply slipping the thing into your pocket, or putting it down on a surface, could leave the screen with scratches and marks.
So we hope Motorola doesn’t decide to go with the design shown in this patent, as we’re happy with the way the Razrs have looked so far.
Tom Bedford was deputy phones editor on TechRadar until late 2022, having worked his way up from staff writer. Though he specialized in phones and tablets, he also took on other tech like electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming and more. He is based in London, UK and now works for the entertainment site What To Watch.
He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.
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