Samsung's folding clamshell design revealed, and it's a bit odd

Even before the release of the Samsung Galaxy Fold, we have already heard that Samsung has two more folding phones in the pipeline.

According to Bloomberg one of the devices will have an “outfold” screen like the Huawei Mate X.

Now a recently published Samsung patent may have leaked the design of that device.

Noticed by LetsGoDigital, the 21 September 2018 patent filed with the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) for a ‘Foldable display apparatus’ features a relatively compact smartphone with a two-part housing joined by a flexible segment.

When you fold or unfold the smartphone, the two housing parts will move relative to each other exactly on the fold line. This makes it possible to flatten the phone on the fold. If the smartphone is completely unfolded, the two parts will close seamlessly.

At the rear a small slide is placed (indicated in the diagram above with ‘A’), which functions as a lock, allowing the device to remain completely flat when opened without a complex mechanism in the hinge.

The patent does not reveal much else about the device, but of course does show that Samsung has been considering an outward-facing screen, despite their claims that it is the wrong way to do a folding phone.

The design is another example of folding screens being used to make large phones smaller rather than turn large phones into small tablets. Which approach do our readers prefer? Let us know below.