By James Vincent, The Verge
The foldable phones are coming, and Chinese handset maker Oppo is the latest to join the fray. A product manager for the company confirmed to Dutch tech site Tweakers that Oppo would be bringing a foldable smartphone to Mobile World Congress next February.
No details were offered on specs or even a release date, so it’s very possible this is just a prototype device and not ready for sale. But we do know Oppo is interested in this area. The company has patented a number of foldable phone designs over recent years, including a device that folds outwards twice to triple the size of its display.
Oppo will join a number of phone makers who have decided foldable displays are the next big thing in mobile. Samsung has already shown off its first foldable with an Infinity Flex display (thought to go on sale in March 2019 for a staggering price); Huawei is reportedly planning its own foldable phone launch before then; and both Lenovo and Xiaomi have teased their own prototypes. Importantly, Google has given its blessing to this coming wave of foldable devices with official support in Android for their changing displays.
Whether or not foldable phones will turn out to be a legitimate trend or just another flash in the tech pan remains to be seen. But for companies vying for attention in the competitive mobile industry, the oppo-tunity to jump on the bandwagon is too good to pass up.
