In 2019, Xiaomi filed a patent with the CNIPA for an outward-folding phone that resembled Huawei’s Mate X series devices. More than three years later, developer Kuba Wojciechowski (@Za_Raczke) shared some real-life images of the device which actually made it to the prototype stage but sadly never had a commercial release.
Xiaomi has passed the foldable phone patent filing
We can see that the basic design from the patent filling is transferred to the prototype model. The device houses a total of four camera sensors, an LED flash, and a screen unlock button on the back. There are several pictures of the inside of the phone showing a dual cell battery setup with the largest cell having a capacity of 3,500mAh.
Outward folding Xiaomi prototype
We also confirmed that it was equipped with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 and an X50 modem for 5G support. Wojciechowski shares that the device was “super secret and very few units made their way into the public” and we can only assume that durability was the biggest liability of this project.
Outward folding prototypes of Xiaomi inside
Xiaomi finally went with the inward folding approach for its Mix Fold phones and hasn’t looked back. Whether or not the OEM is still looking to pursue an outward-folding device in the future remains to be seen.
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