Mobile Technology

Oppo phone concept slides out to reveal three different screen sizes

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The Oppo slide-phone concept folds out in three stages, finishing in a 7-inch display - with a built-in stylus offering a notepad-like experience
nendo/Akihiro Yoshida
The Oppo slide-phone concept folds out in three stages, finishing in a 7-inch display - with a built-in stylus offering a notepad-like experience
nendo/Akihiro Yoshida
When folded, the slide-phone is about the same size as a credit card
nendo/Akihiro Yoshida
The first slide reveals a small screen for displaying such things as the current time and notifications
nendo/Akihiro Yoshida
The second slide reveals more of the screen, and puts the camera at the top for selfies and video chats
nendo/Akihiro Yoshida
In addition to laying flat when sliding out the screen, users can also adopt a tent mode to place the camera module at an angle
nendo/Akihiro Yoshida
From credit car size to 7-inch smartphone in three sliding steps
nendo/Akihiro Yoshida
The three slide modes can be employed while the phone is in its charging dock
nendo/Akihiro Yoshida
The ridged housing could be available in various color combinations, should the concept be made into an actual product
nendo/Akihiro Yoshida
View gallery - 8 images

Last month, Chinese phone maker Oppo offered a glimpse into a possible smartphone future with the Oppo X 2021, a concept with a rollable display. Now the company has demonstrated another concept at the China International Industrial Design Expo – the slide-phone.

The very first foldable screen phone to go on sale wasn't made by Samsung, Huawei or Motorola, it came from China's Royole and was called the FlexPai. Like the devices that followed, this pioneer rocked a single hinge, though two hinges have been floated since at least early 2019. The Oppo slide-phone goes for the triple.

Created to "explore the possibilities of future design" in collaboration with Japan's nendo, the slide-phone's display area increases in size depending on what the phone is being used for. When closed, the clamshell comes in at 54 x 86 mm (2.1 x 3.3 in), or about the same size as a credit card, and has a series of ridges on its outer shell.

Sliding the first hinge up reveals a 40-mm (1.57-in) portion of the screen, which can show such things as current time, notifications and a music player interface. The next slide makes 80 mm (3.14 in) of the display visible, as well as placing the camera module to the top of the phone. The final slide moves the camera module around back while also making the full 7-inch screen viewable.

Orienting to landscape view, the screen can have side panels on either side of a main display for controlling video playback without masking the main viewing area, or serve as game controllers on either side of the action.

There are split physical buttons to the side too, which can function as either two big controls or three/four smaller ones when the phone is folded all the way out. And there's a stylus built into the frame as well.

The slide-phone is purely conceptual at the moment, but Oppo does have form in turning ideas into real products so we may yet see this becoming a working prototype, and even an actual product at some point in the future.

Sources: Oppo, nendo

View gallery - 8 images
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2 comments
buzzclick
I like its small size. They should make it just a little bit wider.
rbolman
Lemme guess, won't work on any cell network in my area and will cost about $2500 US?