Dell’s rumoured foldable laptop display just got another step closer to reality.
For some reason, foldables are totally in right now, meaning we will have to endure the next few years of bendy screens that don’t quite work like they should, and just feel a bit weird all because someone decided foldable hardware is the next big thing.
Now, a new patent granted to Dell by the US Patent Office depicts a hinge part on what is assumed to be a foldable laptop. Of course, it’s not really that simple because Dell use purposefully vague terms such as “information handling system” in place of hinge, and “flexible sheet” in place of display in the patent to conceal the true nature of their foldable display design.
The patent reads: “The displays can rotate with respect to each other through 360 degrees. The displays can be face-to-face in a closed position, in a single plane in an open-book or tablet position, and back-to-back in a fully-open position. The hinge mechanism has at least one flexible connection member that follows a generally S-shaped path when the displays are in a tablet position.” Sure sounds like a bendy laptop to me.
So yes, it’s safe to assume the rumoured Dell foldable laptop display is being actively worked on. A patent grant at this point means a late 2020 release seems likely, but we won’t know for sure until Dell decides to bestow more details upon us. Until then we’re stuck with regular, non-bendy laptop displays like the unfashionable troglodytes we are.
This post originally appeared on Gizmodo UK, which is gobbling up the news in a different timezone.