Huawei to announce foldable phone next year, ‘technology is ready’

A foldable phone, he said, should be able to offer an incremental value to end users. “We need it, but we have to answer why we need it,” Jiao explained.

Where there has been a lot of chatter on foldable phones, nothing really concrete has come out on timelines so far. These are not easy devices to make. A foldable smartphone requires special batteries and flexible displays as well as a reimagined user interface that factors in the new screen. Jiao clarified that “the technology is ready” to create a foldable smartphone and “there are no technical challenges” left.

As per a Nikkei Asia Review report from July, Huawei is using bendable OLED displays made by China’s BOE technology group. It is the same company which has been supplying the Mate 20 Pro’s OLED panel.

Jiao said Huawei’s foldable smartphone will run on EMUI, based on Google’s Android mobile operating system. “EMUI is the best user interface in the world. We are so confident about EMUI,” he said.

Gene Jiao said a foldable phone should be able to offer an incremental value to end users

Also read: Huawei Mate 20 Pro first look: An attempt to change the status quo

However, Android does not support phones with flexible screens yet. We could expect this to be factored in when Android releases its next version. Jiao, said Huawei and Google share a close cooperation and the former has an in-depth understanding of the Android mobile operating system, it would not be a challenge to do modifications to the user interface.

Several top-tier smartphone manufacturers are currently working on phones with flexible screens that can be folded in half. Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, has also expressed its desire to launch such device early next year. Apple is also rumoured to be developing a foldable phone and has recently filed a patent for a bendable phone that users can fold in half and carry in their pocket.