Alleged Tri-Folding Xiaomi Smartphone Appears In Leaked Video
The fact that folding smartphones are coming isn't debatable at this point. Samsung has already shown off its folding smartphone packing a 7.3-inch Infinity Flex display that folds in half offering a more pocketable form factor. But Samsung isn't alone in working to get folding screen devices on the market; Huawei has been tipped to debut a folding smartphone at MWC 2019. A new leaked video claims to show a folding smartphone that Xiaomi is working on.
The video comes from Evan Blass via Twitter who notes that the authenticity of the footage is unverified. Blass says that the person who supplied the video claims the device is made by Xiaomi, but there is no official branding seen in the video to base that
Can't speak to the authenticity of this video or device, but it's allegedly made by Xiaomi, I'm told. Hot new phone, or gadget porn deepfake? pic.twitter.com/qwFogWiE2F
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 3, 2019
What we can see in the video is a device that has a large screen and folds in two places. Reports indicate that the interface of the device in the video appears to show real Xiaomi MIUI software. One tidbit that leads to confusion about the device is that a brighter version of the video is floating around that reportedly reveals no front components seen on smartphones today, like the camera, sensors, or earpiece speaker.
Xiaomi has found ways to hide those components in the past, notably the sliding design of the Mi Mix 3 that saw those components pop up from behind the screen. The device in the video might also use bone conduction rather than a speaker for the earpiece. Another possibility is that this is merely a prototype that didn't need those requisite components.
The interface of the device when running what appears to be Google Maps is slick; when the side sections are folded the map automatically resizes to keep the same amount of data visible.
