Bin Lin/Xiaomi A lesser-known mobile brand is hopping on the flexible phone bandwagon -- and it just stole Samsung's thunder. Xiaomi co-founder and President Bin Lin on Wednesday shared a video on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, that shows the company's foldable tablet prototype that bends on both sides of the screen. "Here comes the Xiaomi double folding phone!" wrote Lin in Chinese. "This symmetrically dual-outer-folding form factor perfectly merges the experience of a tablet and a phone, it's both practical and beautiful." Read: Galaxy X? Galaxy F? Samsung's foldable phone faces 9 big issues Now playing: Watch this: Xiaomi's double-folding phone looks impressive in teaser... In the video, Lin holds a square device and swipes smoothly through videos. He then folds the screen on both sides and the tablet turns into a slimmer phone-sized device. Lin asked Weibo users in the post what Xiaomi should call this new device, "I thought of two: Xiaomi Dual Flex, Xiaomi MIX Flex. We welcome suggestions!" Xiaomi didn't respond to a request for further comment. Earlier this month, leaker Evan Blass shared a video of bendable Android tablet that was allegedly made by Xiaomi. It looks similar to the device Bin shared on Wednesday. Several flexible smartphones are expected to make their debut this year. In November, Samsung showcased its bendable prototype phone. Royole's FlexPai came out at CES earlier this month. Huawei has confirmed its working on foldable phones. And a Lenovo patent filing reveals the computer giant is also considering foldable devices. NASA turns 60: The space agency has taken humanity farther than anyone else, and it has plans to go further. Taking It to Extremes: Mix insane situations -- erupting volcanoes, nuclear meltdowns, 30-foot waves -- with everyday tech. Here's what happens.<doc-sep>Chinese tech firm Xiaomi has unveiled a foldable smartphone with three screen sections. Footage appears to show the device fully extended in a landscape orientation before the edges are bent and folded backwards, creating a smaller central display. The radical design is currently a mere engineering concept but the firm, dubbed 'Chinese Apple', says it may go into production in the future, if demand is sufficient. Xiaomi co-founder and president Lin Bin said the device remains unnamed and revealed the tech giant is open to suggestions from the public. Two existing potential names include the Xiaomi Dual Flex and Xiaomi MIX Flex. Chinese tech firm Xiaomi has unveiled a foldable smartphone with three screen sections. Two folds appear down the screen when held in a landscape orientation and these slabs of screen then nestle behind the remaining operational screen Lin Bin said in his Weibo post: 'After conquering a series of technical problems such as flexible folding screen technology, flexible cover technology, and MIUI adaptation, we have produced the first folding screen mobile phone. 'It should be the world's first double folding mobile phone. 'This symmetrical double-folded form perfectly combines the user experience of the tablet and mobile phone, making it both practical and attractive. 'Although this phone is an engineering model, I’d like to show it to everyone. 'Welcoming everyone to forward / comment / like. If everyone likes it, we will consider mass producing the phone in the future. 'Also, we’d like to name this engineering model. What should we name it? I thought of two: Xiaomi Dual Flex, Xiaomi MIX Flex. Welcome suggestions!' The radical design is currently a mere engineering concept but the firm, dubbed 'Chinese Apple', says it may later go into production if demand is sufficient. Xiaomi co-founder and president Lin Bin said the device remains unnamed and revealed the tech giant is open to suggestions from the public Footage appears to show the device fully extended in a landscape orientation before the edges are bent and folded backwards, creating a smaller central display. The handset converts flawlessly from a tablet-sized device with an approximate 4:3 ratio to a more traditional and compact phone-like device when the screen is folded (pictured) The device, which may be called the Dual Flex or MIX Flex, becomes more of a traditional and compact mobile phone device and the folded back pieces of screen deactivate and go black (pictured) The handset converts flawlessly from a tablet-sized device with an approximate 4:3 ratio to a more traditional and compact phone-like device when the screen is folded. Details about the handset besides its revolutionary screen are sparse as the firm says it is an early-stage engineering model. There is no sign of a camera but the firm appears to have altered the MIUI software for the foldable phone as the screen automatically adjusts when moved and folded. The transition is far from flawless with the software grappling briefly with the folding but the demonstration is a stunning proof of concept. If the device makes it to the production line it will likely face stiff competition from Samsung, Lenovo and Huawei in the emerging and rapidly surging folding phone market.<doc-sep>
This is the new foldable phone by Xiaomi. After watching the video I’m rather surprised at how cool and futuristic this thing feels. Xiaomi’s President Lin Bin published the video on the Chinese social network Weibo, calling it the world’s first double foldable phone. This expandable phone/foldable tablet is worthy of a sci-fi movie. “This symmetrical double-folded form perfectly combines the experience of the tablet and mobile phone,” Bin said on his post. He mentions that it is still a prototype, not the final product, but it is polished enough to show in public. The Instagram-ratio tablet folds on two sides, top and bottom, getting into a rather compact phone size — much smaller than any standard soap bar phones. When extended it looks very thin, but folded it’s thicker than regular models. MORE: Best Smartphones - Here Are the 10 Best Phones Available Bin says that the company had to come up with its own hinge technology to fold the display (no mention of who is the panel manufacturer), the screen protective material, and adapt their Android-based MIUI operating system to create the Xiaomi foldable. Bin also said that it may be called Xiaomi Dual Flex or Xiaomi MIX Flex, although he’s open to suggestions from Weibo commenters. There is no mention on how durable this is or folding tests statistics. Would it last enough to make its guts obsolete? And how much would this cost? We can assume it is going to be expensive but, being Xiaomi, it will probably beat Samsung and most of the foldable phones coming in 2019. Image credits: Xiaomi