Recently, an insider broke the news that Samsung is developing a multi-folding smartphone with a horizontal/vertical hinge design. Previously, the South Korean electronics tech giant has achieved great success with the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3. Officials claim more than five times the sales of the previous generation, but the company is clearly not going to stop there.
Last month, Dutch technology blog LetsGoDigital reported on Samsung’s patent for a multi-folding Galaxy smartphone, which features support for both horizontal and vertical folds, hence the name Galaxy Z Multi-Fold. Interestingly, it didn’t take long for Dohyun Kim to reach out to LetsGoDigital’s editor, claiming that the uniquely shaped “multi-folding” smartphone was actually in development.
The tipster has already amassed considerable fame through Twitter leaks related to the Galaxy S22 series of smartphones (including numerous official presentations/design specs). Referring to last month’s patent revelations, in the vertically folded state, the screen can be displayed outwards. In the horizontal folding mode, the screen can be hidden inside, in order to take into account the folding use and storage protection effect.
To make it easier for everyone to imagine what this fabled “multi-folding” smartphone will look like, LetsGoDigital once again teamed up with graphic designer Parvez Khan (aka Technizo Concept) to produce a series of high-definition concept renderings. Meanwhile, Dohyun Kim shared more information about this particular device, which shows that its overall size is slightly larger than the 7.6-inch Galaxy Z Fold3. For reference, Huawei Mate X2 and Xiaomi MIX Fold are both 8-inch flexible screens.
On the software side, Samsung is apparently also actively developing a new user interface (UI) for the “Galaxy Z Multi-Fold” to improve the overall user experience (UX). For example, on current folding screen smartphones, the company has a convenient Flex mode. Considering the multiple folding postures, the Korean manufacturer is also thinking about a different keyboard experience. For example, it is placed horizontally like a laptop, with the upper half displaying content and the lower half serving as a virtual keyboard.
In order to further improve productivity and large-screen interactive experience, although the official word is not spoken, Galaxy Z Multi-Fold obviously also provides support for the versatile S Pen stylus (Galaxy Z Fold3 supports S Pen, but does not have a built-in storage slot). If the Galaxy Z Multi-Fold also needs to store the S Pen through a custom protective case, the legendary new generation of the Galaxy Z Fold4 is likely to provide a storage slot like the Galaxy S22 Ultra, or magnetic adsorption like the Galaxy Tab S8 tablet.
In terms of taking pictures, the patent document mentions an off-screen selfie camera + rear three-camera combination. Samsung has previously used the UPC solution on the Galaxy Z Fold3 for the first time, but the 4MP image quality performance can only be said to be average (compared to punching/notching). Of course, thanks to its dexterous body, we also do not rule out the possibility that the Galaxy Z Multi-Fold can use the flipped main camera to take selfies. Finally, even if IP67 waterproof and dustproof features are not available, the machine is expected to have a built-in 4400+ mAh battery, as well as support for 25/45W wired fast charging and wireless charging.