Xiaomi had one of the most challenging and interesting foldable phones I’ve seen, a prototype which was showcased back in January this year. It had a triple screen setup and it remained a prototype, not having leaked since. Xiaomi keeps churning patents for foldable devices, though and the latest one involves a device that has a pop up penta camera.
Xiaomi is no stranger to Penta cameras, having recently launched the Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro handset, with 5 camera sensors at the back. Now we see a tablet that can turn into a phone and viceversa in a patent that reveals a pop up 5 camera mechanism. It would appear that the device is quite slim, both when it’s folded and also unfolded. The left side of it seems a bit beefier than the right one, so it probably holds the major components, like the battery, CPU and more.
A single hinge is present here, unlike the January leaked machine. This is merely a patent and odds are that the product will never see the light of day. Still, it shows the company’s commitment to both foldable phones and also towards pop up cameras. Oddly enough, Xiaomi has stayed away from foldables and only the likes of Samsung and Huawei have launched such phones in 2019.
I think that in 2020 we’ll finally see the Mi and Redmi maker come out with own foldable, undermining rivals with a $999 price tag.