Huawei is no stranger to the foldable smartphone market, and its latest device, the Nova Flip, uses a compact clamshell folding method.
This is the first foldable product in the Nova series and is also positioned in the fashion direction with a variety of bold colors. Although it is mainly advertised as a fashion accessory, the Nova Flip has impressive hardware including a teardrop hinge mechanism that has passed rigorous testing by Swiss SGS and is rated to be able to bend 1.2 million times. The device is only 6.88mm thick when opened and weighs 195 grams.
The Nova Flip comes with a 2.14-inch square OLED display right next to the dual cameras, while inside there is a 6.94-inch LTPO OLED display with Full HD+ resolution and a refresh rate of 1-120Hz. The outer display acts as a viewfinder for the main camera and can also run some first-party apps like weather, music, and calendar.
The camera system includes a 50 MP main camera with a 1/1.56-inch RYYB sensor and f/1.9 aperture, along with an 8 MP ultra-wide-angle lens and a 32 MP front camera.
Huawei hasn't revealed the processor or RAM on the Nova Flip, but a previous listing on Geekbench suggests the phone is running on the Kirin 8000 chip, which is also expected to power the Huawei Nova 12 and 12 Pro.
The software, which is powered by HarmonyOS 4.2, brings a number of artificial intelligence (AI) tricks, including a subject removal tool, text selection from images, and image creation. The Nova Flip also packs a 4,400mAh battery with 66W wired charging.
The Huawei Nova Flip comes in New Green, Sakura Pink, Zero White, and Starry Black. It starts at $744 for the 256GB model, $798 for the 512GB model, and $911 for the 1TB model. Huawei will start selling the Nova Flip in China starting August 10.
Foldable smartphones are a prime example of cutting-edge engineering and design in phones. Over the past decade, we’ve seen smartphone brands unveil a range of foldable, rollable, expandable, and shrinking screen technologies, but there’s a big difference between demonstrating a great idea and making it a commercial reality.
Now, rumors are pointing toward what could be the next evolutionary stage of the foldable phone, with reports of the world's first "tri-folding display" prototype, as reported by Android Authority.
In a recent post on Weibo, Digital Chat Station revealed that they had the opportunity to test a new tri-fold screen prototype. Many previous rumors have said that Huawei is developing a unique tri-fold screen smartphone.
According to Gizmochina citing information from Digital Chat Station, Huawei's tri-fold phone will be the world's first smartphone with an innovative inward and outward folding design with a dual hinge. Currently, foldable screen smartphones on the market today only allow users to fold in one direction, either inward or outward.
What’s more, Huawei’s upcoming tri-fold phone will have a 10-inch display and will have a crease-controlled fold. The post also claims that the smartphone has “cutting-edge new technology” and mentions a lack of “competitors,” a bold statement given Samsung ’s dominance in the foldable phone market.