While tech giants like Apple and Samsung spend billions developing cutting-edge smartphones, a 17-year-old from central China has done something extraordinary. He built his own foldable phone from scratch. Using a 3D printer, spare parts from old family phones, and a dash of ingenuity, Lan Bowen has not only created a functional device but also captured the imagination of millions online. He even earned praise from a major phone manufacturer.

Lan is a first-year student at Yiling High School in Yichang, Hubei province. Despite his young age, Lan is already a fantastic inventor with a keen eye for spotting design flaws in commercial devices and the resolve to fix them himself. In a six-minute video posted on Chinese social media on February 16 that eventually went viral (around 5 million views as I’m typing), the teenager is shown assembling a vertical foldable phone, troubleshooting technical glitches, and proudly demonstrating its unique design where the screen is on the outside of the device rather than the inside.

“I call it a meal card machine because its length and width are similar to a canteen meal card after being folded, though it is much thicker,” Lan said in the video, dressed in his school uniform.

A unique foldable phone

Lan was browsing the smartphone market when he noticed that most foldable phones either folded horizontally or inward vertically, leaving the screen protected inside. But he wondered: why not create a phone that folds vertically with the screen on the outside?

“I found various types of such horizontal models and the inward-folded vertical ones were available on the market, but no outside-folded vertical ones which leave the screens outside while bent,” Lan explained.

With a 3D printer he bought for 2,000 yuan (US$275) last year, Lan crafted the phone’s custom frame. For the internal components, he scavenged parts from old family phones and supplemented them with over-the-counter parts purchased online. The result is a 16mm-thick device that, while bulky by modern standards, is highly impressive.

Although Lan is a super resourceful and industrious kid, his project wasn’t without challenges. Lan struggled to get the touchscreen to work when the phone was unfolded. “I found the reason was that the screen was pushed out when it was unfolded,” he said. After numerous tests and several damaged screens, he finally cracked the problem.

“My smartphone is at a very primitive stage, with plenty of shortcomings,” Lan admitted. “But the good thing is that it is able to implement all the functions of a normal mobile phone.”

Industry Recognition

Lan’s invention quickly went viral, drawing admiration from netizens and tech enthusiasts alike. “I see a small version of Lei Jun, the founder of Xiaomi, a domestic leading consumer electronics giant,” one commenter wrote. Another quiped Lan’s craftsmanship and communication skills: “He not only does handicraft well, but also has a good expression ability and makes videos adeptly.”

Vivo, one of China’s top smartphone manufacturers, took notice. “It is great! Vivo expects more marvellous work from you,” the company commented on Lan’s video, according to the South China Morning Post.

Despite his newfound fame, Lan remains humble. He admits that he struggles in most subjects except English and geography. But his passion for hands-on projects has been a constant since childhood. As a primary school student, he built military models, a hobby supported by his parents — his father, a taxi driver, and his mother, an insurance sales worker.

With 3D printing and other technologies now readily available, we are seeing more and more unique projects appearing online. Who knows what innovation we could see next from an unexpected place.