Samsung steals Microsoft's Surface Duo Peek UI for Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 (patent)

A series of patents noticed by LetsGoDitigal has given as a look at the next generation of the  Samsung Galaxy Fold and has revealed a number of interesting changes.

The patent shows a number of changes, and addresses a significant issue which has troubled early adopters.

One patent addresses efforts to make the handset dust and waterproof by introducing a number of elements to block the ingress of water into the folding mechanism.

The patent also shows a square camera hole as the bottom lens in the camera cluster, suggesting the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 will indeed feature a periscope zoom camera, like the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Another change introduced is replacing the large external screen with a narrow notification strip, similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.

This, of course, means you will have to open your handset to meaningfully interact with notifications, but interestingly Samsung is planning to introduce a solution similar to Microsoft’s Surface Duo.

Like Microsoft’s Peek UI for the Surface Duo, opening the screen slightly will display a UI related to the notification on the notification strip, allowing users to read headlines, change tracks or make phone calls without fully opening the handset.

For comparison Microsoft’s leaked Surfac Dup Peek UI can be seen below:

While some of Samsung’s changes, such as waterproofing efforts, are welcome, Galaxy Fold users have been asking for a larger rather than smaller external screen, and the small notification screen on the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip is the device’s weakest feature. The changes may, however, allow for a cheaper handset than he $1980 Samsung Galaxy Fold.

The various patent can be seen here and here.

What do our readers think of the changes? Let us know in the comments below.