Three in one! IBM signs patent for smartwatch that can turn smartphone or tablet

Kamran

5 years ago

After a project imagined by Huawei to suggest successor to it’s foldable, now it was IBM’s turn to register a patent in the folding category. However, the company opted for a smart watch that would unfold to form a smartphone or tablet.

The smartwatch would consist of multiple screens, which could be configured to form a different type of device. The document was published by LetsGoDigital and is titled “Variable Display Size for an Electronic Display Device”.

The registration had been requested in 2016. However, only in the last month of June was it approved. Secondary screens are stacked in layers behind the main display.

According to the document, the device is designed to work in one or more display configurations, with different screen sizes. Because there are more panels positioned behind the primary, the notebook as a watch turns out to have a still bulky body.

To complete, the patent indicates that each display measures 3×2 inches – that is, this is also the measure for the folded smartwatch. In the second setting, the size would become 6×4 inches. To complete, there would be a third option in 12×8 inches. However, the images in the document signal the latter to be, in fact, 6×8 inches.

It is always worth stressing that the existence of a patent does not mean that the project will go out of print and be released on the market. Registration alone indicates that the idea is part of the company’s intentions.

Source: nl.letsgodigital.org