The folding smartphone market is rapidly democratizing, and some industry leaders are following up on their ideas. This is the case of Samsung and Microsoft, who are already imagining new ways of using this technology.
We may have heard about folding smartphones for several years now, it is a safe bet that the year 2022 will allow this market to reach a new maturity. Indeed, many telephony players will offer their vision of this technology, in the wake already opened by Samsung with its Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip. But the Korean giant does not intend to sit on its laurels.
The patents identified by the site bear witness to this once again. Let’sGoDigital, of which it is the specialty. In these, we discover a smartphone capable of folding in three. Once unfolded, it would take advantage of a large slab, like a Galaxy Fold to which we would have added an additional part. An interesting idea since we would finally get closer to the format of a tablet. Closed, it would keep the appearance of a smartphone in 20: 9 or 21: 9.
Samsung Tri-Fold smartphone with rear sub-displayhttps: //t.co/JBklT6uqbb
– Rear sub-display
– S Pen support
– Triple rear camera
– Under panel camera
– In-display fingerprint sensor
– HDMI connectorPatent was published 12/23/21#Samsung#SamsungTriFold#SamsungGalaxyTriFoldpic.twitter.com/oldWNva3y3
– LetsGoDigital – Mark Peters (@letsgodigitalNL) December 24, 2021
The patent, quite detailed, even offers an overview of the interior of the smartphone. The opportunity to observe the arrangement of the components, which is a real challenge for this type of product. We see in fact that the motherboard would be divided into two parts, and that the device would opt for two separate accumulators. This patent may exist, it does not mean that we will be able to hold the mobile in our hands soon. There are many design issues, and Samsung will have to reduce the thickness of each “slice” of the screen. It will still be quite imposing when folded.
Microsoft also on the spot
This idea isn’t entirely new, and it inspires at least one other tech giant, Microsoft, which recently released its Surface Duo 2, a smartphone offering two separate screens this time around. The American firm is also trying to push the concept further with three panels, while retaining a hinge system between each of them.
This is in any case what seems to indicate a patent application, this time unearthed by the PatentlyApple site, and filed by the Redmond firm.
The idea here would also be to take advantage of a 16: 9 type screen, but also to improve productivity by offering to use several different applications simultaneously. Note, however, that no photo sensor is present on the sketch, which seems unlikely, especially since the latter strongly impacts the thickness of the device. You will understand, if the idea seems to gain ground, nothing indicates that it will emerge precisely in this form.