Xiaomi may be working on a foldable phone in the form of a clamshell. The company recently patented a design from the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) that shows sketches of this alleged clamshell phone. Xiaomi unveiled its first foldable phone, the Mi Mix Fold, last year, and now it may well be that the company wants to master this segment.
The patent was originally spotted by MySmartPrice on CNIPA. The publication shared many sketches of the Xiaomi clamshell phone from different angles. As already mentioned, it opens and closes in the form of a clamshell with loops visible on both side edges, as in the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip series. At the edges of the device, there are thick frames. As you can see in the images, there is no cutout for the camera on the front panel, which indicates that the smartphone may have a camera below the display. On the back, it has a camera module similar to a visor, inspired by the Google Pixel 6 series or perhaps Star Wars. I think that’s the latter.
The camera panel has three cutouts, one of which can be for the LED flash, which means that the Xiaomi clamshell can have a dual camera. We do not yet know the characteristics of the camera and other basic parameters of the smartphone. The images show that the volume and power buttons are on the right edge, and the SIM tray, speaker grille and USB Type-C port are on the bottom.
Of course, this is just a patent. We are not sure whether Xiaomi is working on a smartphone or not. However, if the company decides to release this foldable phone, it will create a problem for Samsung’s future foldable devices.