You’ve probably seen one by now. Someone is flipping open a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold at a café. A YouTuber is stress-testing a Motorola Razr. Or an ad promising a phone that folds like a book.
Foldable phones are no longer sci-fi. They’re in stores. They’re in people’s pockets. They’re in product roadmaps from almost every major phone maker.
But ask anyone who actually invented the foldable phone, and the answers get fuzzy. Some will say Samsung. Others might mention Huawei. The truth? Foldables were decades in the making, and their patent history is a battlefield full of twists, failed experiments, and quiet filings by companies no one saw coming.
In this article, we’ll unpack the invention story of foldable phones, who really filed first, which patents made them possible, and how the battle for the fold is still unfolding.
The Origins: Early Concepts and Prototypes of Foldable Phones
The journey toward foldable smartphones began decades before their commercial debut, rooted in visionary concepts and experimental prototypes that aimed to revolutionize mobile technology. Some of the early innovations and concepts were:
Kyocera’s Dual-Screen Design (2011)
Kyocera introduced the Echo, a pioneering dual-touchscreen Android smartphone. This device featured two 3.5-inch displays connected by a hinge, allowing users to operate separate applications on each screen or combine them for a larger viewing area. While the screens were not flexible, the Echo’s design laid the groundwork for future foldable devices by exploring the potential of expanded screen real estate within a compact form factor.
Source – Wikipedia
Nokia’s Morph Concept (2008)
Nokia unveiled the Morph, a conceptual device showcasing the potential of nanotechnology in creating flexible and stretchable OLED displays. The Morph could be folded and reshaped, illustrating a future where mobile devices adapt to various forms and functions. Although purely conceptual, the Morph highlighted the possibilities of flexible electronics in mobile devices.
Source – Reddit
Motorola’s Patent for Foldable Displays (2010)
Motorola filed patents detailing designs for foldable smartphones that could transform into tablet-like devices. These designs emphasized the potential of flexible display technology to create versatile form factors, allowing a single device to serve multiple functions.
Technological Challenges and Developments
Transitioning from concept to reality required significant advancements in materials science and engineering. Early prototypes faced challenges such as display durability, hinge design, and software optimization to accommodate various screen configurations. Innovations in flexible OLED technology, robust hinge mechanisms, and adaptive user interfaces were essential to address these issues and pave the way for practical foldable smartphones.
These foundational efforts and explorations set the stage for developing commercially viable foldable smartphones, marking a significant evolution in mobile device design and functionality.
From Dream to Display: The Breakthroughs That Made Foldables Real
For decades, foldable phones were more idea than reality. Then, almost overnight, they were on store shelves. But it didn’t happen overnight.
Between 2018 and 2024, a series of make-or-break innovations turned foldables from fragile concept devices into mass-market products. From flexible OLED breakthroughs to hinge engineering, this era was when companies finally figured out how to fold a phone and make it last.
Royole FlexPai (2018): First to Market, Not to Win
Chinese startup Royole was the first to launch a foldable phone. The FlexPai, unveiled in late 2018, had a flexible AMOLED display that folded outward. While technically the first, its thick body, clunky software, and durability concerns meant it never gained traction. But it proved one thing: foldables were possible.
Source: Royole
Samsung Galaxy Fold (2019): The Real Starting Point
In 2019, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Fold, the first foldable phone designed for scale. The original version had flaws, a fragile display, and a dust-sensitive hinge, but Samsung paused the launch, reengineered the device, and relaunched it months later. It marked the beginning of the Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip series, which now lead the foldable market.
Huawei Mate X (2019): The Outward-Folding Rival
Launched just days after the Fold, Huawei’s Mate X featured an outward-folding display and sleek design. However, U.S. trade restrictions and software limitations stalled its global success. Still, it pushed the envelope on hardware and IP filings.
Motorola Razr (2019–2023): Nostalgia Meets New Tech
The rebooted Motorola Razr, released in late 2019, brought back the iconic flip-phone design, this time with a foldable OLED screen inside. It struggled at launch but saw major improvements in its 2022 and 2023 versions, including a more durable hinge and better battery life.
Oppo Find N Series (2021–2023): Rethinking the Fold
Oppo surprised everyone with the Find N series and was praised for its near-invisible display crease and compact form factor. The hinge design allowed for a tighter fold and better weight distribution, influencing future hardware standards.
Google Pixel Fold (2023): Software-First Approach
Google entered the space with the Pixel Fold, optimizing Android to support foldable form factors better. The Pixel Fold emphasized multitasking, UI fluidity, and app continuity, bringing much-needed polish to the foldable software experience.
TECNO Phantom V Fold and V Flip (2023–2024): The Budget Disruptor
TECNO’s Phantom series brought foldables to mid-tier pricing, challenging the notion that foldable phones had to cost over $1,500. While imperfect, they expanded access and showed where the market could go next.
These launches weren’t just hardware milestones. They solved the exact problems that early concepts couldn’t:
- Hinge durability and dust resistance
- Foldable OLED longevity
- Multi-mode UI and gesture fluidity
- Compact battery architecture in dual-body formats
This wave of innovation didn’t just make foldables real; it made them usable.
The Patents That Made Foldable Phones Possible
Foldable smartphones—devices with flexible screens that bend to reduce size or expand screen real estate—represent one of the most dramatic design shifts in mobile history. But they didn’t emerge from a single breakthrough.
Instead, they evolved from decades of experimentation with flexible displays, modular housings, and mechanical hinges.
To uncover the technologies that paved the way, we used the Global Patent Search tool, which semantically matches plain-English queries to relevant patents across global databases.
We entered the query: “Smartphones with flexible displays that fold to reduce size or expand screen area” and focused our analysis on patents filed between 1990 and 2015. We chose this period as we believed it would showcase early display research transition into commercially viable, flexible hardware architectures.
Source: GPS
We found that the 1990–2015 period captured the pre-smartphone groundwork, the first flexible display breakthroughs, and early foldable form factor patents. These filings laid the intellectual groundwork, years before the foldable phone wars officially began. Below is a curated, chronological list of 15 pivotal filings and why they matter.
| Priority Date | Patent Number | Title | Why It’s Foundational |
| 2003-08-21 | US20070164923A1 | Electronic Device | Introduced dual-screen architecture that folds into a compact device and expands to create a single large screen; precursor to today’s foldables. |
| 2005-10-31 | TWI402659B | Electronic Device with Flexible Display Screen | Early implementation of flexible displays integrated into multi-part housings; demonstrated flexible panels passing through foldable joints. |
| 2008-07-28 | CN201282487Y | Folding Type Mobile Phone with Spreading Display Screen | Demonstrated modular folding screens that expand into a large unified display; conceptually similar to tri-fold phones. |
| 2009-05-11 | KR20120011065A | Foldable Portable Display | Describes a foldable display module that expands to a larger format and contracts for portability; essential in defining flexible screen architecture. |
| 2010-06-30 | US20120001831A1 | Multi-screen Personal Communication Device | Enabled multi-screen setups where secondary displays could fold in/out around a primary screen; boosting productivity in mobile devices. |
| 2010-11-19 | US9213428B2 | Portable Electronic Device Including Flexible Display | One of the earliest patents filed by BlackBerry focusing on real-world applications of bendable displays in compact form factors. |
| 2010-10-08 | KR200370890Y1 | Mobile Terminal with Extended Display Window | Described organic flexible displays that could fold along body contours; precursor to OLED implementations in modern foldables. |
| 2011-11-17 | KR101263610B1 | Portable Electronic Device Including Flexible Display | Reinforced fold regions and hybrid display-control zones; core to dynamic UI behavior on foldable surfaces. |
| 2012-02-21 | CN102546872A | Foldable Double-screen Intelligent Mobile Phone | Described screen bifurcation via rotatable shaft for dual-display fusion; established logic for software-continuity on expanded views. |
| 2012-12-23 | CN202455400U | Foldable Large-screen Mobile Phone | Introduced dual-body foldable design with a single flexible display stretched across; mechanically and architecturally significant. |
| 2013-07-01 | CN203352631U | Extensible-screen Handset | Utilized telescopic sliding and folding to transform screen real estate; showed hybridization of rolling and folding. |
| 2013-09-20 | US20200050318A1 | Mobile Electronic Device Enabling Screen Size Variation | Demonstrated curved folding radii and internal fold-back design for flexible OLED displays; important in crease-reduction engineering. |
| 2014-08-15 | TWI505232B | Wearing Flexible Display | Merged wearable and foldable device concepts; introduced clasp-based folding screens, informing wearables like foldable smartbands. |
| 2015-01-21 | US20160212840A1 | Foldable Display Device | Described tri-axis folding design; contributed to next-gen Z-fold and S-fold screen models in the industry. |
| 2015-12-23 | KR20170075283A | Electronic Device and Folding Unit Thereof | Introduced dual-body architecture with flexible interconnects; used in modern foldables for thermal management and durability. |
Fold, File, Fight: The Legal Turf War Beneath the Screens
Foldable phones didn’t just spark a hardware race; they also triggered a quiet but fierce IP battle among the world’s biggest tech players. Behind every hinge innovation and flexible OLED panel is a stack of patents and legal tension over who owns what.
Here are some of the most significant (and underreported) patent disputes and positioning moves in the foldable phone space:
Samsung vs BOE (Ongoing, 2023–Present)
BOE, a major Chinese display maker, has emerged as one of Samsung Display’s biggest competitors in flexible OLED manufacturing. In 2023, Samsung Display filed multiple patent infringement lawsuits against BOE in the U.S., alleging unauthorized use of its OLED technologies in foldable displays. BOE has countersued in China, creating a cross-border patent standoff.
Why it matters: This battle affects the supply chain for foldable displays, especially for OEMs looking for alternatives to Samsung.
Apple’s IP Stockpiling (2011–Now)
Though Apple hasn’t released a foldable iPhone (yet), it holds over 30 patents related to foldable displays, hinge mechanisms, and flexible battery configurations. It’s quietly building a patent wall while observing the market’s legal landmines.
Why it matters: Apple’s approach signals long-term IP strategy: protect first, release later. It also acts as a deterrent to potential infringement.
Motorola vs TCL (2019)
In 2019, TCL unveiled foldable prototypes eerily similar to Motorola’s Razr reboot. While no formal suit followed, Motorola filed defensive patents and closely monitored TCL’s product announcements.
Why it matters: It exposed how thin the line is between design inspiration and IP violation, especially when multiple companies work with the same display suppliers.
Patent Thickets in Flexible Displays
Dozens of smaller players and display OEMs, like Visionox, E Ink, and even Royole, hold narrow but critical patents around flexible substrates, lamination methods, and touch sensitivity in foldable formats.
Why it matters: As foldables become mainstream, companies must navigate a dense patent thicket where unintentional infringement is increasingly likely.
These battles show that the foldable phone war isn’t just on shelves; it’s in courtrooms and patent databases. And the next major innovation might not win because it’s better. It might win because someone filed first.
How Global Patent Search Helps You Navigate Foldable Tech?
If you’re building or researching foldable phone tech, the IP maze can be overwhelming. With patents spread across hinge designs, flexible displays, and multi-mode form factors, it’s easy to miss what already exists or who filed first.
The Global Patent Search tool helps you cut through the noise.
Here’s how:
- Search in plain language
Describe an idea like “hinge that adjusts based on screen angle” or “foldable phone with tri-panel display” and GPS will surface relevant patents. - Find prior art before you build
Easily check if your concept overlaps with existing patents so you can pivot early or strengthen your claims. - Explore feature-level patent clusters
Identify patents tied to specific innovations like magnetic hinges, layered OLED panels, or adaptive UIs. - Get a global view
Discover who’s innovating where, across jurisdictions and assignees.
Whether you’re an engineer, product strategist, or legal analyst, GPS helps you move forward with clarity, without the guesswork. Try the Global Patent Search tool today.
