# Futuristic Folding Phones The Paddle Smartphone Can Be Creased to Cater to Your Immediate Needs By Amelia Roblin | Published 2014-02-27 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/paddle-smartphone References: [apartmenttherapy](http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/paddle-is-the-foldable-smartphone-of-the-future-design-news-200662) & [fastcodesign](http://www.fastcodesign.com/3026020/meet-paddle-the-incredible-shapeshifting-smartphone-of-the-future) Imagine if you could mold your mobile phone into your desired dimensions on a whim -- that's the facility that the Paddle Smartphone would offer. Belgium's Hasselt University iMinds has been working on a cutting-edge design for a new handset that embodies [origami-style flexibility](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/playful-phone-experimentation). Inspired by the rubix cube, the team has been developing a puzzling prototype that can take 15 different shapes to date. With gridded creases across its malleable touchscreen surface, the mobile phone can be expanded into an [iPad](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/moft-dynamic-folio)-size tablet or pleated into a palm-sized device with the proportions of an [iPhone](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/apple-iphone-fold-concept). But what's more, the Paddle smartphone concept invites you to get creative, manipulating it into a wristband or treating it like a page in a book. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 4.9/10 - Popularity: 47% | Activity: 93% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) > [Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/design) ## Key Themes ### Key Themes Behind This Trend - **Flexible Smartphone Design:** The Paddle Smartphone showcases the disruptive innovation opportunity of a mobile phone with origami-style flexibility, allowing users to mold it into different shapes. - **Versatile Device Transformations:** The Paddle Smartphone's ability to transform into 15 different shapes presents a disruptive innovation opportunity for creating versatile devices that cater to users' immediate needs. - **Creative User Interaction:** The Paddle Smartphone concept encourages users to creatively manipulate the device into various forms, offering a disruptive innovation opportunity for novel user experiences. ### Where This Applies - **Consumer Electronics:** The Paddle Smartphone's flexible design opens up disruptive innovation opportunities in the consumer electronics industry, enabling the development of highly adaptable devices. - **Mobile Technology:** The Paddle Smartphone's transformative capabilities present disruptive innovation opportunities within the mobile technology sector, allowing for the creation of innovative and versatile mobile devices. - **Wearable Technology:** The Paddle Smartphone's ability to be transformed into a wristband highlights a disruptive innovation opportunity in the wearable technology industry, offering unique and customizable wearable devices. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Flexible Folding Concept Phone](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/flex-in-out-flip.md) - [Transforming Tablet Smartphones](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/samsung-galaxy-fold-mini-concept.md) - [Triple-Folding Smartphones](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/zero-series-mini-trifold.md) - [Tri-Folding Smartphone Concepts](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tecno-phantom-ultimate-2.md) - [Multifunctional Foldable Mobile Devices](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/move-mobile-device.md) - [Malleable Wearable Smartphones](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/motorola-adaptive-display-concept.md) - [Triple Foldable Smartphones](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mate-xt-ultimate-design.md) - [Folding Wrap-Around Smartphone Concepts](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/samsung-galaxy-z-series.md) - [Dual-Direction Folding Smartphones](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tcl-ultra-flex.md)