Currently, bezelless displays and dual rear-facing cameras are the popular features that most smartphone manufacturers are incorporating into their flagship devices. But as more and more reports point to big players in the market work on foldable smartphones, it’s clear that manufacturers hope it could become their next big opportunity.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has been working on a foldable smartphone for years, debuting a foldable display back in 2009. The company announced in September that it plans to launch its foldable “Galaxy X” in 2018. A recent discovery of a Samsung patent shows how the interface for a foldable smartphone would work. The patent depicts two screens, with a possible hinge in the middle rather than a continuous display.  

While Samsung has dominated headlines when it comes to the foldable smartphone, they aren’t the only tech giant to set its sights on the market. Industry sources have claimed that, in addition to Samsung, both Oppo Electronics Corp. and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. are working on foldable smartphones.

The latest foldable phone reports come a few weeks after the launch of the Axon M (pictured) from ZTE Corp. The Axon M features two full-size 5.2-inch displays connected by a hinge. Both displays have 1,920-by-1,080-pixel resolution and Gorilla Glass 5.

The Axon M offers a dual mode, allowing users to view different things on each screen simultaneously. Extended mode turns the two displays into a single display, while a mirror mode places the same content on both screens for sharing purposes, and a traditional mode turns one screen off so the device can be used like a standard smartphone.

Huawei is currently working on a smartphone with two screens similar to the Axon M, according to the industry sources, with plans to launch the device before the end of 2018. Additional details weren’t available about Oppo’s plans, but the company recently filed a patent for a smartphone with a foldable display. Oppo’s plans differ from what ZTE has done, with the patent describing a single-camera smartphone. A foldable top portion of the smartphone could then flip between a front and rear-facing camera.

Not to be left behind, Apple Inc. is also reportedly working on a foldable iPhone together with LG Corp., according to a report from The Investor last month. LG Display is reportedly developing a foldable organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, display, while LG Innotek has a team dedicated to the development of a “rigid flexible printed circuit board.” Apple subsequently went on to file a patent for a device with a “flexible portion” and “flexible display” that could be folded without seams or a visible hinge.

It’s not coming soon, though, as The Investor reported that production isn’t planned until 2020.  

Image: ZTE