The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 are expected to launch in 2022 but Samsung is exploring several different types of foldable and expandable phones that might be developed in the future, winning patents and simultaneously giving the world a glimpse of three wild new designs. Both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 represent the best flexible screen technology currently available but Samsung won't stop there and it will interesting to see what arrives in 2022 and beyond.

Samsung's latest foldable smartphones use an ultra-thin glass for rigidity behind a stretchable PET plastic cover that protects the screen from scratches, which is a necessity for the microns-thin glass. The hinges represent another innovation, providing just enough resistance to hold the phone in almost any position while being smooth enough to survive 200,000 folds. Despite such an advanced design, there is still room to improve and Samsung won't sit idly when there is work is left to be done.

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Three patent documents revealed details of possible Samsung foldable smartphones. The first is quite similar to the current Galaxy Z Fold 3 with the exception that the hinge is placed horizontally rather than vertically, making it wider and shorter when folded. Dimensions are not provided, however, it seems logical that the size might be similar to the Z Fold 3 when unfolded. This is the tamest of the three patents and Let's Go Digital did the honors of rendering each new design as if these were actual devices that had been manufactured.

The Wildest Samsung Phone Patents

Lets Go Digital Renders Samsung Foldable Patents
Image Credit: Let's Go Digital

The two wildest of the three recent Samsung phone patents are nothing like any phone currently being manufactured, although a rollable smartphone has been teased as a trade show prototype in the past. A slide-out portion of one Samsung patent expands the display between 30 and 50-percent wider when rolling out the flexible display and providing a rigid back that would allow compatibility with an S-Pen. Perhaps the most interesting design features a partially unfolding panel with about one-third of the main screen bending backward to rest beside the rear camera portion that is twice as thick as the rest of the display. With this design, the camera panel can be made as thick as a standard phone, which allows room for higher-quality cameras with a longer zoom range and higher resolution. This Samsung foldable design also reveals a slot for an S-Pen behind the folded portion of the screen.

Samsung's horizontally folding phone that was mentioned first would double its screen size when unfolded, the slide-out rollable screen of the second might expand the width by as much as 50 percent, and the third which partially unfolds would add about one-third to the edge. Each of these concepts offers interesting possibilities but comes with drawbacks to size and usability that might prevent them from ever coming to market. What makes the patents interesting, however, is Samsung's ability and experience with solving tough problems as it did with its first foldable phones and there is a possibility that some unique expanding phone design will appear in the coming months or years.

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Source: Let's Go Digital 1, 2, 3