
Forward-looking: It’s change into evident that Samsung is the largest proponent of foldable telephones, in addition to the one firm that’s been in a position to promote them in any important portions. The South Korean electronics large remains to be enhancing on the unique Galaxy Fold and Galaxy Flip designs, however behind the scenes it’s additionally exploring new kind components like a telephone with a sideways foldable higher half.
When it isn’t busy battling ransomware gangs, lower-than-expected chip manufacturing yields, and blowback from followers for throttling the chipsets on Galaxy telephones, Samsung is attempting to delineate extra quirky ideas for foldable telephones.
According to a patent uncovered by Let’s Go Digital, the tech large envisions a brand new sort of foldable telephone that will have a sideways wrap-around display screen. The patent was filed in 2021 with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), and describes a tool that’s L-shaped when unfolded, with the highest half of the display screen protruding to the facet.
When folded, the gadget seems nearly like a daily Galaxy S telephone, and the patent appears to recommend the display screen may be energetic when folded to the again of the gadget.
Like with the LG Wing — which is admittedly a dual-screen swivel telephone — the thought behind Samsung’s hypothetical gadget is that you should use its oddly-shaped display screen to multi-task.
The patent suggests a state of affairs the place you could be on a Zoom or Teams name and have to work together with a calendar app or entry one thing from cloud storage on the identical time. Instead of the picture-in-picture performance provided by apps like Telegram, Skype, or YouTube, you’ll use the protruding portion of the show as an alternative of getting a floating window masking one thing on the principle portion of the show that must be consistently moved round.
The display screen would make the most of the identical Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) that Samsung employs on the profitable Galaxy Z Flip3 and Galaxy Z Fold3, and a particular hinge with three magnets would stop the folding portion of the show from detaching by chance.
Samsung may by no means launch such a tool, nevertheless it’s nonetheless an attention-grabbing idea, identical to the Westworld-esque Galaxy Fold idea the corporate confirmed off on the IMID expo final 12 months.
Masthead credit score: Let’s Go Digital