Oct 28, 2025

Oct 28, 2025 Motorola is exploring the future of mobile design with a newly discovered patent for a phone that can transform into a watch. While the concept looks futuristic, it’s unclear if it will ever reach consumers as the industry experiments with AI-driven and display-free devices. The smartphone candy bar form factor has been around for more than a decade. But realistically, we don’t think the form factor is sticking around for the foreseeable future. That begs the question of, if not this form factor, then what? That’s something Motorola is exploring, according to a recently discovered patent that suggests a phone that can be worn as a watch . Motorola has a patent for a phone that can be worn as a watch Based on the patent images, it looks like Motorola has come up with an idea for a phone that can transform into a watch. Believe it or not, this is actually not the first time Motorola has come up with this idea. Back in 2023, the company took the wraps off a concept phone with a bendable display and body that can be bent around the wearer’s wrist. However, there is a difference between Motorola’s concept and this patent. For starters, the patent suggests that the phone could feature some kind of retractable display. This means that when the display is fully retracted, it’s small enough to fit on your wrist. However, it can then be expanded to become a phone. The patent talks about the frame structure needed to support the retractable design. However, it stops short of mentioning things like display size, connectivity options, battery, and most importantly, cameras. It’s actually a pretty cool concept on paper. But honestly, it seems unlikely that it will ever see the light of day. While patents sometimes act as clues for what a company has planned for the future, it is never a guarantee that these patents become actual commercial products. The future of communications Like we said, we don’t think candy bar shaped smartphones are going to continue being the standard of mobile phone design. In fact, with the rise of AI , some believe that we may even transition to devices without a display. We’ve already seen some companies attempt these AI-first devices , like Rabbit, and Humane. However, neither of these devices really took off. We’re also hearing that OpenAI’s Sam Altman is working with legendary former Apple designer, Jony Ive, to create some kind of communications device . It’s too early to tell how that will turn out, but what do you think? What kind of device can you imagine replacing our smartphones in the future? Motorola patent