I always assumed tri-fold smartphones were a clever way to squish a decent-sized tablet into a smartphone-sized form factor, but a tantalizing new concept from Infinix, the ZERO Series Mini Tri-Fold, has me thinking differently about this form factor and wishing that everyone would follow its lead.
Infinix, a mobile technology company focused mostly on markets outside the US and Europe, teased an exciting tri-fold concept design this week that starts as a standard-sized flagship phone and then folds – twice – into a versatile, palm-sized tech companion.
In the images shared in a press release, the ZERO Series Mini Tri-Fold looks incredibly thin (no specs were given) and features a metal back and dual camera system. The front is an edge-to-edge display that can fold accordion-like so that the first bend folds the top two-thirds of the display in on itself and the last third bends out. Fully folded, the phone has the cameras on one side and the screen on the other.
Bending the right
What’s immediately appealing about this design to me is that it takes Samsung’s Z Flip 6 folding design, and raises the stakes with a phone that folds to roughly the same visual thickness as the Flip but is even more compact. Instead of losing screen real-estate to the cameras, they end up on one side of the phone while the other side is nothing but display.
There are even, as Infinix envisions it, benefits to keeping that display bend visible when the phone is folded. In one image, Inifinx shows how the phone can be attached to a mountain bike handlebar, with the top third of the main display used as a viewfinder for the cameras, the middle portion delivering route guidance, and that thin bend space displaying additional details about the ride.
Fully folded, the ZERO Series Mini Tri-Fold concept is small enough that you could attach it to your vest as a sort of lifecam for hiking or other activities.
Infinix claims it’s “lightweight, intuitive, and built for single-handed use – blurring the lines between a smartphone and an all-in-one tech companion.” Like I said, lots of versatility.
A better folding way
Seeing this concept made me realize I’d been thinking about tri-folds in the wrong way. I’d assumed, based on current tri folds heading to the market, that these flexi phones were the best way to get mid-sized tablets into our pockets. I like drawing on tablets and appreciate a larger screen that I can take anywhere without the bulk, but the iPad Mini has always neatly split the difference for me (and is still larger than, say, an unfolded Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6).
The Huawei Mate XT looks nice but unwieldy when unfolded. What if, as this Infinix concept suggests, a tri-fold doesn’t try to turn a smartphone into something bigger but instead takes the framework of a smartphone and makes it far smaller. Granted, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 is pretty small, but folded, it’s thick and would not hang lightly in a coat pocket or vest.
The ZERO Series Mini Tri-Fold is a true convertible, transforming the flagship phone design into first a flip-style device and then, with one more fold, into something approaching a GoPro – but with all the smarts and capabilities of a smartphone.
Obviously there are tons of questions here. Can Infiinx really build such a thin and light tri-folding phone? If the screen is folded and that screen bend is on the outside, how do we know that it can survive one hard knock during an intense hike?
A thin design like that won’t accommodate periscope cameras, which means limited zoom. Also, we don’t know the megapixels for any of the cameras.
I can, though, make some assumptions based on Ifinix’s Zero Flip. It’s a 6.9-inch, 195g foldable with just one bend and two 50MP cameras on the back. I have to assume that might be the starting point for this far sexier tri-fold.
That’s not a bad place to start. Let’s see Infinix build it, and then watch as Samsung, Huawei, and even Apple race to catch up.
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
