The drive for innovation has always lead manufacturers to come up with creative and practical designs that were thought impossible a few years ago. Just five years ago, it would have been utterly incredulous to imagine a smartphone that has visually no bezels but an all screen display. Today, that is something which has already become a norm in the smartphone world. However, innovation knows no bounds and as the past few weeks would suggest, the future of the modern smartphone seems to be headed towards the foldable form factor. Today, after recent prototypes from Samsung and a few other brands, We have discovered a patent for a Foldable Sony Phone which also appears to boast a transparent display.
A Foldable Sony Phone Patent Has Leaked, Features A Transparent Display
Although a nascent concept, the foldable smartphone is well on its way towards reality. We already have displays that can bend at extreme angles without snapping. It is just a matter of time until someone figures out how to implement that into a pragmatic product. However, from what I have seen, the Sony patent takes it even further, this patent suggests a phone that has two displays on either side that gives the illusion of transparency. Yes sounds incredible doesn’t it.
Take a look
The patent was originally leaked by LetsGoDigital and it quickly caught the attention of people all around the web. In May this year, Sony Corporation filed a patent with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) for a ‘Display device and electronic apparatus’. The patent was published on 22 November 2018 and builds on two patents that have already been applied for and approved at an earlier stage in Japan and America.
The idea here, from what I understand, is that the phone will feature two displays, one on the front which is usual but the second one on the back, then through the use of some exceptionally complicated tech the phone will appear to be transparent.
The Technology Behind Foldable Sony Phone?
According to the source,
The patent is a smartphone with two displays, one at the front and one at the rear. The first display includes a number of light emitting elements. The second display includes a plurality of light control elements, each performing light control for control or transmission or reflection or incident light. As a result, the patented Sony smartphone features a dual-sided transparent display.
The patent description and illustrations show six different display modes, three for the front and three for the rear. From transparent, to semi-transparent to non-transparent. The user will be able to select and switch between the different modes. Factors such as ambient light and energy can be played in this.
In addition, the patented technology can also be applied to a foldable smartphone. To create a transparent display, two displays need to facing each other. Therefore the foldable smartphone will incorporate four displays. A camera may be disposed on the right display.
This is perhaps a bit too technical for the layman to comprehend but you get the idea. Essentially, the two displays will act as a see-through glass with the icons and text on the display hovering over the background. Such tech has often been seen in sci-fi movies where a transparent display has hovering characters on it giving it the illusion that the contents of the display are conjured up in clear space.
Moreover, as the patent suggests, this transparent display tech can also be used alongside a folding mechanism. So now you have a phone that has a transparent display as well as a folding ability.
Here are the six display modes illustrated in the patent.
The patent has been applied for via various countries and has since been included in WIPO’s world database. It is certainly not impossible that Sony seriously sees a chance to develop such a transparent smartphone. It should be clear that a screen like this has a high energy consumption, So the question to ask here is, how big a battery would be needed to power such a phone and how that battery will be implemented so that it doesn’t restrict the folding ability of the phone. This is by no means an easy feat. This sort of tech would no doubt consume a lot of energy and so to provide that would be a challenge in itself.
This is all for now, make sure to leave us a comment and tell us what you make of this transparent foldable Sony Phone conecpt.