The Samsung Galaxy Fold is still not available, but there are not that restrains the Korean manufacturer to design new phones fold. While Huawei seems to be working on a Mate X folding phone with the display on the inside, Samsung seems to be exploring new possibilities to process the screen on the outside. Over the years we have come across several examples of such foldable phone designs, this time describing a patent for a folding phone with an edge display. This gives the device a typical Samsung look.
Foldable Samsung phone with curved screen
The Samsung Electronics patent was applied for at the end of 2017 at the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). It was published on 28 May 2019 under the title ‘Foldable electronic device including flexible display’. A Samsung folding phone is described with a full-screen design. There is no side bar, the camera is processed in the flexible screen (punch-hole camera).
The foldable smartphone has two housings, which are held together by means of a hinge. The large flexible screen falls over this. A particularly rotatable hinge is used. The applied mechanism must ensure a flawless folding process. The hinge is processed at the device’s rear and partially recessed into the housing.
The patented folding phone from Samsung has a high-quality display. Once expanded you have a large tablet format screen at your disposal. The flexible screen is curved on both sides. The device has a stylish edge display, as we have known for years from the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note smartphones. When you fold the phone, you have a curved screen on one side and the round hinge on the other side. This Samsung smartphone therefore looks particularly stylish.
The camera module is processed at the top, in the left half of the flexible screen. This makes the camera usable in both folded and unfolded positions. The patent description further states that both a flash and a heart rate monitor are added. This is not an under-screen camera, the camera system used is more similar to the front camera of the Galaxy S10, also called a punch-hole camera.
A speaker and a light sensor are placed on the top of the mobile device. At the bottom, the folding phone is provided with a microphone (left housing) and a connection for the charger (right housing).
Because of the edged screen, there is no frame border visible on the side of the device. The on/off button and volume buttons position remains unclear. There is also no 3.5mm headphone connection visible. However, it is not a design patent, so it is possible that they will be added at a later stage. Although there was also a rumor about the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 that would be executed without buttons. Samsung has abandoned this at a later stage, yet it is quite possible that future Samsung smartphones, including the patented model, will become buttonless.
Samsung foldable smartphones
Samsung has since applied for a large number of patents for various folding phone designs. Although not all of these futuristic devices are actually put on the market as end products, the Korean manufacturer has indeed expressed its intention to launch a new folding phone every year.
These devices will of course be elaborated on each other. Still, it cannot be ruled out that Samsung is also introducing a foldable smartphone that folds out. Thanks to the curved full-screen screen, this device looks very stylish, the hinge also seems to be of good quality. Moreover, the camera is integrated into the screen, so there is no need for a wide sidebar.
With the launch of the Galaxy Fold, things are not going well. Nevertheless, the company is certainly not behind other manufacturers, because apart from the Royole Flexpai there is simply still no folding device available.
The time will tell whether the foldable smartphone is really a success. But given the great possibilities of a flexible screen, it simply seems to be a matter of time before the folding phone becomes generally good.
