Should the Andromeda phone be a Z-fold?

[grahamf]

Long story short, making 360-degree hinges is extremely difficult when you expect it to unfold to a seamless display, but you can't just have a clamshell case otherwise either both screens will always be exposed or both with be inaccessible.

A Z-fold would mean that only one screen would be exposed, and they can connect using very tiny bezels (if you can get a 90 degree fold in the screen with zero radius they can be flush). Plus you can have more normal screen ratios in folded and unfolded state.

Thoughts?

 

[covfefe]

Should. Which means it won't be.

 

[xandros9]

I just can't stop thinking about wear-and-tear on the pivot point of anything that folds.

 

[tgp]

I just can't stop thinking about wear-and-tear on the pivot point of anything that folds.

I think of that too. I remember the early laptops had issues with their hinges. A friend of mine had one where the hinge was completely loose. The screen had to be propped against something because it wouldn't stay up on its own.

 

[justjun555]

maybe in future.
I have a doubt about whether Microsoft can pull off seamless display ahead of display giants Samsung and LG ?
andromeda device may turnout more refined version of ZTE axon M with minimal bazels and infinite curved edges to make it resembles close to seamless flat display.

 

[waraukaeru]

They did patent a Z-fold design, so surely they're playing with the concept.

It seems from recent patents that they are going with separate displays, as justjun555 suggested. The idea would be each display curves into the side, like many Samsung phones. When the displays are unfolded, software compensates for the curvature and projects an image across the displays that looks more-or-less seamless. This was described in a recent Microsoft patent.

Samsung has said recently that they are not pushing a foldable phone to market anytime soon, and probably not for several years. They've been playing with that idea for a long time. They said that they see "bezel-less" phones, or phones with minimal bezels, to be the big selling point currently and they want to milk this trend for a while longer. People are keeping their phones for longer and longer periods of time, so they need to plan out when to introduce features so they keep people buying at a steady rate.

Samsung may be well-equipped to make a folding display, but Android is not ready for it. Android apps and UI are not nearly as adaptable as Windows Apps and UI. Whether or not Microsoft is first-to-market with their foldable portable, they'll definitely have the advantage in software implementation for quite a while.

 

[DavidBS1989]

I think is a great idea to have a fold-design mobile in order to break the Wall between mobile and tablets. I'm really waitting for news of Andrómeda.