Huawei is a regular player in the foldable phone market, having recently released the Pocket 2, its first clamshell phone to feature four cameras on its outer casing. Now, patents filed with China’s CNIPA offer a glimpse into what Huawei’s future clamshells could include.

Although patents do not guarantee their use in final products, they can give clues about the development direction of a company. These patents received by the company 91 mobile phonesshowcases five options Huawei could explore for its upcoming foldable design. The basic folding mechanism remains the same across all models, with variations primarily focused on camera placement.

Huawei’s current Pocket 2 has a vertical design with a separate circular cutout for the quad-camera module and cover display. New patents show what future alternatives could look like:

One design features two circular rings on the outside of the phone, like the Huawei Pocket 2, but they are arranged horizontally. Another patent shows the same format, but with a strip at the top of the back.

The third one is interesting, showing a flip phone with two cutouts of different sizes placed diagonally. The larger ring likely houses the display cover, while the smaller ring could house the cameras.

Huawei also appears to be experimenting with square camera modules instead of round ones. As you can see in the patent below, the clamshell phone has two square frames (placed horizontally) on the back instead of round ones.

Another design shows square frames arranged diagonally in a larger and smaller pattern, similar to the circular design.

These patents suggest that Huawei is considering abandoning the dual-ring design of the Pocket 2. It remains to be seen whether these mockups will ever be translated into real devices, but they do provide an interesting glimpse into the company’s advanced phone development process.