Samsung Quietly Preparing Motorola Razr Competitor

A new patent reveals Samsung's intention to release a clamshell foldable that will compete with Motorola's new Razr foldable.

Previous reports revealed that Samsung plans to release a foldable smartphone that folds in half like a clamshell. This folding design is reminiscent of the iconic Motorola Razr, which has been given a reboot in the form of the Razr foldable.

Samsung first revealed the foldable device's design by way of a teaser video released last month. The company didn't hint at the device's specs. The video, however, showed that it might have the same form factor as the Razr (minus the chin), and that it might have a hole punch for a selfie camera.

A new patent application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, spotted by Patently Apple, revealed that Samsung's planned clamshell foldable smartphone will be even more reminiscent of the new Moto Razr. This one has a display that can be used when the device is folded, similar to the small outer display on the Lenovo device.

The patent illustrations reveal that the device only has one display that's used for when the device is folded or unfolded. It's unclear as to how Samsung plans to do this. Here's a quick look at how the Korean giant wants it to work.

Unfolded: The device works like a standard smartphone when the device is unfolded. Users will see the full screen without any obstruction. If the teaser video mentioned above is any indication, the display won't have a notch. The presence of bezels, however, remain unknown at the moment.

Folded: The device doesn't have an external display located at the back of the phone. Instead of using a secondary display similar to what the new Razr foldable uses when it is folded, Samsung's clamshell foldable will instead use the same flexible display that's used when the device is unfolded. This display will be made visible from the outside when the device is on folded mode.

As mentioned, it's unclear as to how Samsung plans to do this. It's entirely possible that the upper half of the device will have a clear back so that the display can be seen. It's also possible that there's a small display placed at inside the upper half of the phone. The images, however, seem to indicate that it's more of the former than the latter.

Samsung hasn't officially announced the arrival of a new foldable smartphone that will succeed the Galaxy Fold. That said, the foldable smartphone design reported here is still but a patent at the moment; an official release date is still nowhere to be found.