Alibaba patent shows smartphone that folds from both ends

Unlike the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which folds like a book, Alibaba’s design allows the phone to fold like a blanket

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Alibaba's foldable smartphone design breaks the mold by folding in from both the top and bottom. (Picture: Alibaba)

Published: 4:42pm, 30 Jan 2020Updated: 2:41pm, 20 Oct 2020

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba recently filed a patent showing a foldable smartphone design for a device that folds in from the top and bottom of the screen.

Unlike previous foldable smartphones from Samsung or Motorola, Alibaba’s clamshell design has two hinges. Opposite of the main screen, there’s another screen on the upper portion of the back panel that lights up and serves as the front display when folded up. There are also two buttons on the right side: One for power and the other for volume.

Alibaba doesn’t currently make phones, so it’s unclear what the company plans to do with the patent. But the ecommerce company did try to get into the smartphone business with Haier back in 2012. It launched Aliyun OS in an attempt to take on Android, but it didn’t catch on.

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