Foldable Smartphones: Samsung Patents Fold-Out Smartphone Concept

While companies showed off their most innovative products at CES last week, Samsung was looking even farther into the future. The company was awarded a patent for a next generation, fold-out smartphone, according to a report from Patently Mobile.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted Samsung the patent, though not much is known about the actual application of such a device.

The Korean manufacturer also had two other designs approved that are slightly more conventional, including a smartphone with a curved edge on the back of the device and a smartphone with dual edges in the style of the Galaxy Edge.

In the case of all three patented designs, it’s unclear if there will ever be a manufactured device that matches the patent drawings. But the fold-out smartphone patent is of particular interest not just because of the oddity of it, but because of the interest other major smartphone makers have in such a concept.

According to a previous report from Patently Apple, a leading supplier of folding screen technology confirmed five companies are currently testing foldable displays. Google, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and Lenovo are all reportedly experimenting with the idea. LG has also reportedly been working on foldable and bendable displays.

While the report speculated at least three companies would mass produce a foldable phone by 2018, the closest to realizing the concept is Lenovo. The Chinese company brought out a foldable smartphone concept device last year.

Samsung’s patent could present trouble for Lenovo and any other company hoping to bring a smartphone to market, as they’ll have to avoid infringing upon Samsung’s claim to the concept or face potential payment.

Apple also has its fair share of patents on foldable and flexible displays.

It was believed that Samsung would attempt to release a foldable device as early as 2016, but plans never came to fruition. The Galaxy X—a future version of the company’s flagship smartphone—is rumored to feature a flexible display. The company will also have to deal with the consequences of its Galaxy Note 7 debacle that led to a massive recall to get the devices, which had a habit of exploding, off the market.