Motorola has patented a wearable device with a flexible screen built directly into its strap
The patent was uncovered through our collaboration with David from @xleaks7.
The device could work like a normal smartwatch while worn on the wrist.
Once removed, however, the strap could unfold and rearrange itself into a wider, phone-like screen.
This could make the design especially useful for health tracking.
Instead of checking calorie burn, workout data, maps or longer health reports on a tiny watch face, users could open the device and view the same information on a much larger display.
Motorola hybrid smartwatch that unfolds into a smartphone | Image: Burnplate
The Problem
Smartwatches are easy to carry, but their screens are too small for many everyday tasks.
Reading long messages, counting calories, viewing maps, typing or watching videos is still much easier on a phone.
Simply making a watch face larger would make it bulky and uncomfortable.
Motorola’s solution is to use the entire strap as a flexible display and change its shape when more screen space is needed.
Unwrapped and smartphone modes of Motorola hybrid smartwatch | Image: Burnplate
The Design
In smartwatch mode, the device forms a loop around the wrist.
A rectangular watch section sits at the top, while the flexible display continues across the outer surface of the strap.
When opened, the wearable becomes one long, flat display.
The design then allows its two main screen sections to fold and sit next to each other, forming a shorter but much wider screen, similar in shape to a small smartphone.
The patent shows a mechanism between the two sections.
One half can rotate into position, while magnets or locking parts help keep both sides properly aligned.
The software would then split and resize the content so that the two sections work like one continuous screen.
Our concept renders show how this could look in practice: a clean black smartwatch on the wrist, a long display when opened and a compact phone-like screen when folded.
Drawings of Motorola hybrid smartwatch | Image: Burnplate
Key Points
The main features described in the patent include:
- A flexible touchscreen extending across the strap
- A normal smartwatch mode for wrist use
- A wider phone-like mode created by placing two screen sections together
- Sensors that detect whether the device is flat, wrapped or folded
- Software that splits and scales content across both display sections
- Magnets or locking parts that help keep the screens correctly aligned
- Internal batteries, processors and wireless components built into the strap ends
Why It Could Matter for Health Tracking
For health and fitness users, the biggest advantage would be having more room to understand their data.
A normal watch is fine for showing steps, heart rate or one calorie number.
A wider screen could display full daily summaries, calorie trends, workout charts, meal information and progress over time without forcing the user to open a separate phone app.
The most interesting question is not only whether a watch can become a phone. It is whether a device like this could make calorie and fitness data easier to see, understand and actually use.
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