The number of smartphone manufacturers with foldable smartphones in their series is steadily increasing. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 are outstanding representatives. In addition, Huawei, Lenovo (Motorola) and Xiaomi have also released one or more foldable models.
Yesterday, as the brand’s first folding mobile phone, Oppo Find N was announced in a high-profile manner. At the same time, manufacturers continue to work hard to develop expandable and scrollable screen smartphones, and now there are several prototypes, such as Oppo x 2021 or TCL Fold’n Roll.
Samsung is also developing this type of mobile phone; the company’s display department demonstrated a sliding device in May. Although the first slide phone with a flexible screen has not yet been released, Samsung is now also studying the possibility of developing a phone that can pull the screen from the side.
Earlier this year, we discussed a Samsung dual slide phone that can be moved up and down. This time, Samsung is studying the possibility of extending the screen upward and to the side.
This information is based on a patent submitted by Samsung Electronics to the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) on May 21, 2021. A 152-page document entitled “Electronic Equipment and Control Method Including Display with the Multiple States” was released today (December 16, 2021).
These patent pictures depict a modern Samsung phone with a rounded screen on the right and top, which gives the device a unique appearance. The pictures show an almost full-screen design with only a narrow frame edge visible at the bottom. The special feature of this smartphone is that it can extend the phone screen in terms of width (to the right) and height (up).
The user can choose whether to enlarge two parts or only one part. On the left side of the phone, a button is placed to start the extension. Then, the user can determine the direction in which the screen should scroll in or out by pinching up or to the side of the touch screen. The additional screen surface is stored in the housing and added to the front panel from the side and/or top. The width of the screen can be placed about 30%, and the height can be placed about 25%.
The upper right corner of the fuselage has set aside space for the selfie camera, which is placed in the frame. The position of this camera is very important because, in this specific position, the screen cannot be zoomed in or out, therefore, the selfie camera determines the angle at which the screen can be expanded.
There is also a single camera at the top left corner of the back-just as opposed to the selfie camera, Samsung seems to have no other choice here; after all, there must be enough space in the compact body to accommodate two rolled up displays.
When the device is expanded in width and height, different form factors will be produced, which also creates new possibilities for users. The patented Samsung scrollable smartphone can also be rotated by 180˚, after which the protruding part will be on the other side. In other words, the upwardly protruding part will face downward, and then the interface will automatically adjust, for example, this can be used to display a virtual keyboard or a calculator.
In the patent document, several user options are shown and described. It seems to be an advanced variant of Flex mode, we already know this from Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip devices. The extra display part can be used to display or open an extra application (split-screen).
In the second additional display part, another application can be displayed, such as a message application. In this way, users can easily switch between different applications without having to close an application. It is also useful to use several display areas when viewing the photo library.