Samsung is working on a new Galaxy phone you can fold in half

Curtis Moldrich Read more June 1, 2016

A new patent filed by Samsung has revealed the company is working on a foldable smartphone. However, rather than using a clamshell design like the Motorola Razr, Samsung’s new design looks like a normal smartphone that can be folded when not in use. The new design owes its acrobatics to one of Samsung’s flexible OLED screens, and according to Patently Mobile, the new technology has improved in leaps and bounds over the last year.

When folded in half, the patent shows a port connector which would presumably be used for charging. That’s pretty interesting because it suggests the new phone could have no exposed ports when in use – potentially making it very water resiliant. Along with the phone, the patent also shows what looks like a charging cradle, though it only appears to work when the phone is folded in half.

samsung_foldable_oled_galaxy_4

Samsung has been threatening to make a flexible mobile device for a while now, and even released the rather cringe-worthy video below in way back in 2014, showing just how flexible screens could be used. This patent shows that Samsung is still keen on the idea, and is gradually preparing to take it to market.

Who is phone this for?

It’s easy to dismiss this patent as a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist, but I actually think Samsung has the right idea. Lots us want larger-screened phones, but we lack the pocket size to carry them around; one of the reasons I picked up a standard iPhone 6 over a 6 Plus. If Samsung can give us a gorgeous, large, OLED screen, and then put it in a package that’ll easily fit in our back pockets, it’s on to a winner.