After years of high-end flip phones that are too expensive for most people to afford, Chinese manufacturer Nubia has announced a new mid-range smartphone with a screen that can be folded in half horizontally.
While folding screens are nothing new, the rumoured price of Nubia's Flip phone certainly is, and going by the Japanese market pricing, this phone could greatly undercut current folding phone prices, which range between €800 and €2,000.
The outside of the so-called Flip has a striking round display (1.43 inches), which can not only show notifications, but can also be used to show news and weather updates or media playback.
The phone opens up to reveal a rather large AMOLED inner screen (6.9 inches), while it's still small enough to fit into a trouser pocket when folded (the opened phone measures 76 x 88 x 15.5 mm).
The subsidiary of the Chinese ZTE Group - announcing its phone at the Mobile World Congress, running until February 29 in Barcelona - said the main camera system has a resolution of 50 megapixels, while the front camera has to make do with 16 megapixels.
The main camera can be started and operated from the small external display, even when the smartphone is folded up, making it handy for seeing a preview of yourself when taking selfies.
The Flip has some flagship-level hardware, too. ZTE is using the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 processor, while the 4,310 mAh battery can be recharged at up to 33 watts. There is 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of mass storage.
And yet the device is positioned as more of a mid-range device, with what is expected to be one of the lowest prices seen for a new flip phone (typically a premium product costing even more than flagship phones).
The Nubia Flip will be launched in Europe in May at "an unbeatable price-performance ratio" in black and gold colour options, ZTE announced - but without naming a specific price.
However, in the Japanese market ZTE is already selling the smartphone for 63,000 yen (€387) under the name Libero Flip from mobile phone provider Y!Mobile.
