LG’s New Design Patent Shows a Futuristic Smartphone-Watch Hybrid
We can all agree that the modern day design of smartphones have reached a standstill. Slowly tech industry giants are looking to develop futuristic devices with dual-bending display. Case in point – the bendable LG G Flex 2 and the dual-edge Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Another significant advancement that the firms are now aiming at is a bendable phone that can be wrapped around the wrist. Seems like LG may have overcome a major hurdle in making the hybrid wrist-phone concept a reality.
The Korean consumer electronics manufacturer has been granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that speaks of a phone and watch combination. The design patent gives a perspective view of a smartphone that can be bent at the ends to wrap around the band. It turns the band into a smart device that has the smartphone as a screen. Such a smart band would be nothing but a huge bracelet with an enormous screen.
Other images suggest that the smartphone can be docked onto the band or bracelet, transforming your hand into a portable phone holder. The patent doesn’t mention the mechanism behind securing a giant screen onto a wristband, but surely there has to be a locking system to keep it fixed.
LG has two bendable devices in its catalogue, G Flex and G Flex 2. At this point of time, it would be too early to say if this model is feasible as there are many hurdles building such a prototype. First of all the SoC (system-on-chip) has to be extremely thin and compact to fit in the thin band, then there are many other primary issues like paper-thin battery, which is a dream yet to achieve.
