Japanese design studio Nendo has created a new concept design for a smartphone, which can fit in the palm of a hand, and is approximately the same size as a credit card. The design has been made in collaboration with the Chinese electronics manufacturing company Oppo, and was showcased at the fourth China International Industrial Design Expo (CIIDE).

In the recent trend of foldable smartphones with OLED panels, most of them have the folding that turns into the standard sized smartphone with a screen twice or thrice as big. This smartphone has been developed using folding technology, which makes it compact and functional instead of just increasing the screen size.

When folded, the phone stands at a size of 54 mm by 86 mm, which is the size of a credit card. The unfolding is held in place by three hinges that fold over in the same direction. The multiple joints of the phone give it the appearance of an inchworm as it can slide sideways and can be fully opened up with swipe of one thumb. The first slide of the phone reveals 40 mm of the screen with functions like the time, notifications, music player being available for the user to see. The second slide of the phone shows 80 mm of the screen, which displays the camera. The icon simultaneously moves to the top of the device and makes for a convenient configuration for taking selfies or being on video calls, and for any other use of the front-facing camera.

The completely unravelled phone is a seven-inch screen with sleek and slender proportions. The full-screen mode can be used as a controller for gaming, or have the phone display multiple applications in a multi-task mode along with doing panoramic photography. The sides of the phone have controls shaped like ellipses cut in half, functioning as control buttons for volume, play/pause, power etc.

The stylus of the phone can be taken out to give the feeling of writing in a notepad when using it over the phone. Allowing for a more ‘human’ experience, the phone’s interface functions in a way that it allows the user to open and close the upper half of the screen, as if they were flipping a page. The hinges have been covered in suede to soften the feeling of the metal at the joint. 

The rest of the phone has been made with cool-toned colours to give a visual calmness and for their compatibility with the leather used in the making.

The phone’s wireless charger has been angled to match with the phone and its hinged appearance, so that when the phone is set to charge, it looks like they have been integrated together.

(Text by Shreeparna Chatterjee, editorial trainee at stirworld.com)