An outward-folding flip phone could be a thing for some reason

Motorola revealed the Razr foldable clamshell phone back in late 2019 and followed up with the Razr 5G in late 2020. However, Samsung stole Motorola’s thunder by offering the Galaxy Z Flip series, coming to more markets and offering more reasonable pricing and specs.

Now, MySmartPrice has uncovered a WIPO patent that shows a rather curious Motorola Razr foldable phone design. The patent shows an outward-folding Razr as opposed to the in-folding designs seen before. In other words, the foldable screen remains on the outside when folded.

Read more: How do folding screens actually work?

Why this design though?

This makes for an interesting design, as it means you don’t need a separate external screen compared to in-folding devices like the Razr line or Galaxy Z Flip family. Instead, part of the folding screen would be used as an external display, potentially being used for notifications, a camera viewfinder, and more.

There is one potential downside for an out-folding device as seen in this patent, and that’s the fact that the folding screen wouldn’t be protected from scratches and other damage as is the case for in-folding devices. So Motorola would ideally need more durable screen tech if it takes this route.

In any event, this wouldn’t be the first out-folding foldable phone in general as the Royole Flexpai and HUAWEI Mate X/XS have offered these form factors before. But it would be the first time we see an out-folding clamshell foldable.

Either way, it’s worth stressing that patents are by no means a guarantee of a commercial release. So you shouldn’t hold your breath for Motorola to produce this device any time soon (if at all).