Motorola filed a patent for a phone with a wrap-around display
Motorola might not have much of a presence in the flagship phone market, but it’s no stranger to trying new things. The company launched its clamshell foldable called the RAZR, and it launched a team of Edge devices. Now, it seems that the company is looking to enter a market that is still relatively untouched. The patent images show us a phone with a screen that wraps all the way around the body. It’s hard to get a full picture of how the device will look from the patent images and renders, but it looks like there will be significant screen real estate on the back. Xiaomi tried this with its Mi Mix Alpha a while back, but the trend just didn’t take off. As with all patents, it’s highly unlikely that this device will see the light of day, so take this news with a grain of salt. Since it’s in the patent stage, it will be a while before we see anything solid.
What kind of tech does the company want to put in this phone?
Based on the information in the patent filing, this phone will be quite self-aware. There will be all types of sensors in the phone to help it detect the temperature, ambient light, the device’s orientation, if the device is in a pocket, if there’s a hand nearby, etc. As for the camera, from what we can tell, there will be a punch-hole on the front of the display, but we don’t know the camera situation on the back just yet. Also, based on one of the patent images, it looks like there will be an under-display fingerprint scanner. We see what looks like a finger indicator. Along with the internal tech, there’s a piece of external hardware, also. Motorola plans to add stylus support to this phone with a wrap-around screen. The patent images didn’t really indicate a dedicated silo on the phone for the stylus, so this could possibly be sold separately.
What could this form factor be used for?
It’s hard to think of why this form factor would be useful. A person could have one app open on the front of the device with one on the back. Other than that, Motorola might have a hard time touting this device as a worthy addition to your workflow. While it may look cool and futuristic, it might have trouble finding an audience.
