Before the first foldable came onto the market, we saw all sorts of strange display patents and CES saw all sorts of strange screen concepts. Eventually, we got the first foldable and they've now become a mainstay in the smartphone world.
However, just because foldables have settled in doesn't mean that manufacturers have stopped trying to innovate regarding mobile displays. It seems Samsung might be looking at “extendables” as the future.
Samsung Might Be Developing A Smartphone With An Extendable Roll-Out Display
No matter how you want to look at it, foldables are cool. As little as 10 years ago, we were limited to displays as rigid, inflexible things, and now, there's an entire electronics segment dedicated to devices with screens that can be folded in half. However, as with all technology, things evolve, and Samsung might be gazing at the next frontier.
A patent for a square-shaped smartphone with a screen that can be pulled out and extended was recently sniffed out by X tipster xleaks7 and websiterating.com. This device is incredibly interesting because it keeps the closed form factor of something like the Z Flip and can extend to the size of a regular phone.
With the way patents work, it is pretty much impossible to tell whether this is just a fun idea Samsung came up with or whether it is something they are actively working on (after all, here's another one that was sniffed up in 2021). That means there's no projection on when a phone like this might find its way to the market if it ever does.
Smartphone Displays Have Seen A Lot Of Different Concepts
We've seen foldables and we might potentially have the opportunity to see “extendables” as well. But those aren't the only ways that we've seen smartphone screens behave, whether in concepts or actual products. Let's talk about the unusual display technologies that have tickled the market over the last several years.
- Foldables: I don't need to say much about these. The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold are the perfect examples — devices that fold shut to hide a larger display.
- Reverse foldables: What would you call it if a phone like the Samsung Z Fold had its larger screen on the outside? Yep, think of something like the Huawei Mate X.
- Dual-direction foldable(?): I don't even know what to call this, but Samsung showed us the concept at CES this year with the In&Out Flip that can flip in both directions.
- Swivel display: The LG Wing is the only smartphone I can think of in this category and it has a large primary screen that can swivel from portrait to landscape orientation to put the phone into a T-shape.
- Rollable displays: You might not realize it, but the extendable smartphone we just talked about fits into this category. When you pull to extend the screen, you're essentially pulling it from a reel that it is wrapped around.
When Are The Next Galaxy Foldables Launching?
While it will likely be several years before we see any new form of flexible display find its way to the consumer smartphone market, we can expect the sixth generation of the Z Fold and Z Flip to launch this year, as usual.
The new devices should be unveiled in the second half of the year, and any of the summer months could be the winner. Either way, I can't wait to see what magic Samsung will bring, considering what they did with the S24 series.
