The maker of the dual-screen YotaPhone goes bankrupt

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Before the likes of Samsung could put two displays onto one single smartphone, Russian company Yota attempted to do the same as far back as December 2012 with the release of the YotaPhone, a device that had an LCD display as its primary display and an e-ink display on the other side as its secondary display. The device certainly was a new take on what smartphones could achieve, but it only received as much attention as first generation devices from lesser known brands (on the global scale) do. Yota followed up on the dual display concept with the release of the YotaPhone 2, and then the YotaPhone 3 which was as recent as August 2017.

Unfortunately, dual-screen phones did not catch the fancy of consumers in any major way. Other OEMs have begun experimenting with this idea, but it appears to be the end of the road for Yota as the company has been declared bankrupt.

The Supreme Court of the Cayman Islands, where Yota was registered, has declared the company bankrupt. FTI Consultings have been appointed as official liquidators of the company.

The proceedings for bankruptcy were filed by Singapore-based manufacturers Hi-p Electronics, the company which supplied displays for the first two generations of the YotaPhone. Both the companies were under dispute for a few reasons, one of which was Yota’s failure to fulfill minimum order obligations for components, which basically implies that the device did not sell as well as the company had initially hoped it would.

Dual display phones could make a comeback with foldable phones, but even Samsung’s Galaxy Fold is having its own issues. With what Samsung is facing, and how poorly phones from Yota have performed, it is unlikely that OEMs will show too much interest in this form factor. Only those with the stomach for loss can take up this challenge.

Source 1: Gov.ky Source 2: FTI Consulting Asia Story Via 1: CNews.ru Story Via 2: GizmoChina