Xiaomi foldable smartphones? The company patents two designs

Xiaomi has filed two foldable phone design patents at CNIPA that contains detailed illustrations and renders of what could be a future smartphone release.

This Xiaomi foldable smartphone has a display that folds to the back to become the size of a regular smartphone

Could two Xiaomi foldable smartphones be in the works?

Xiaomi has recently patented two different foldable smartphone designs with China's intellectual property authority, CNIPA. In an article written by Shotbytes linked here, you can see the screenshots of the patents filed at CNIPA.

The first of the two is not so different from the foldable smartphones we've seen in recent months (read: Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X). It is like a tablet-sized device with a display that folds to the back turning smartphone size. The device's dual front-facing cameras and what appears to be an LED flash are positioned on the side, as derived from the renders.

Xiaomi foldable smartphone design number two appears to function like a clamshell phone

The second design is unconventional in that it is a long display that folds to a clamshell phone-like structure. What is even more interesting is that, in the render, the rear cameras appear to be affixed on the display itself.

While none of these designs can be guaranteed as final or already in the process of production, it would be interesting to see how Xiaomi will put its own flavor in the foldable smartphone game.

What do you think?

Sources: GizmoChina, Shotbytes