Sony is reportedly working on a compact clamshell foldable smartphone. This year has already seen the launch of a slew of foldable smartphones, with more of those models lined up for release later in the year. Sony is among the last few major mobile manufacturers, alongside Apple, who are yet to enter the foldable smartphone market. The Tokyo-headquartered company is expected to soon add a foldable to its Xperia compact series of smartphones. The foldable smartphone is likely to be smaller in size than any of its competitors.

According to a Japanese media outlet SumahoDigest, Sony is working on a “high-end compact” smartphone, which will likely be a “vertically open foldable” smartphone. It is expected to resemble the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, which was released last year.

Sony is expected to dip into its dearth of gaming resources and make the compact foldable handset gaming-friendly, which is expected to give the upcoming Sony foldable an edge over its competitors. It is suggested that the smartphone may launch with the moniker Sony Xperia Fold.

The report adds that the Sony foldable will not have a secondary, external screen, making it possible to have a compact body. The report cites a Reddit post, which refers to a Korean forum that first floated the news. The credibility of the information is questionable and should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Another clamshell foldable, the Oppo Find N2 Flip, was launched last year in December. At launch, the phone was priced at Rs. 89,999 for the 8GB + 256GB model. It is offered in Astral Black and Moonlit Purple colour options. The Galaxy Z Flip 4 on the other hand is priced at  Rs. 94,999 for the 8GB + 256GB variant. It is available in Blue, Bora Purple, Graphite, and Pink Gold colour options.