Huawei patents a vertical triple-fold phone with an S-shaped hinge
Huawei has filed a patent for a vertical triple-fold phone that uses an S-shaped folding mechanism with two separate hinge lines. The device collapses into three stacked layers — more compact than a standard flip phone — and unfolds into a tall, narrow display. For US and UK consumers, Huawei hardware remains off the table due to sanctions, but the patent signals how aggressively the company is pushing foldable design ahead of Samsung and a rumored Apple entry into the segment.
The S-fold concept
The patent, flagged by insiders xleaks7 and PostFast, describes a phone that folds along two vertical hinge lines rather than one. In the fully folded state, the three-layer stack is significantly pocketable compared to a conventional clamshell. Fully open, the proportions stretch into something resembling a TV remote — an elongated screen suited to scrolling social feeds or watching vertical video.
Patent diagrams show a single punch-hole cutout for the front camera at the top of the display. The engineering spec also calls out a flexible display, a main frame with support sub-frames, and protective layers. Notably, Huawei's engineers developed an optimized structural layer specifically for antenna placement — a fix for the signal loss that multi-layer folded bodies tend to cause.
Part of a pattern
Huawei has moved faster than most on foldable formats. The Pura X launched in March 2025 with a wide vertical fold, and the Pura X Max followed in April 2026 as a wide-format book-style foldable with a 7.69-inch inner display. Both are China-only. The Mate XT, released in 2023, was the world's first commercial triple-fold phone — but it folded horizontally, book-style.
This new patent takes the triple-fold idea in a completely different direction: vertical and pocket-first. Samsung has filed its own patents for quad-fold and 360-degree flex designs, per Android Central, so the race to differentiate foldable form factors is real across the industry.
Patent ≠ product
Huawei files patents prolifically, and many never become shipping products. There is no announced timeline, price, or market rollout for this vertical tri-fold. Given current US export restrictions, any commercial version would likely remain a China-market device. Still, the engineering detail in the filing — especially the antenna solution for multi-layer stacking — suggests this has moved beyond a sketch on a whiteboard.
