After folding smartphones were all the rage of 2020, it seems another form factor using flexible OLED screens, expanding smartphones, may be the trend in 2021.
We have seen patents by LG and TCL and Oppo even produced a working prototype, the Oppo X 2021, and now LetsGoDigitial reports that Samsung is working on their own version of the form factor.
Samsung apparently first demonstrated the device to a small audience at CES 2020, and then the device showed up again in a photo showing Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics.
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Samsung’s design reportedly allows their smartphone to expand its screen up to 3x its compact width, making a 6-inch phone into an 8-inch tablet.
Now LetsGoDigital and Dutch 3D designer Jermaine Smit, aka Concept Creator , have created a render showing what the device should look like.
His video shows the S-Pen, but it is, of course, unclear of a rollable screen will support one.
At present, it is not known when Samsung intends to release its expanding smartphone, but presumable they will wait when the technology is mature enough. There appears to be a lot of competition waiting in the wings, however, so Samsung can not wait too long.