Samsung might be working on a smartphone that can folded twice — making it possible for users to turn both left and right side of the display to the back.
The South Korean tech giant filed a patent for a ‘dual-fold’ smartphone back in 2018, and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has recently published the patent, giving us a closer look at what Samsung’s future ‘dual-fold’ smartphone could look like.
The patented smartphone is unlike anything that Samsung has ever done. The foldable smartphones that the company offer right now fold inwards and have hinge mechanism in the middle of the display. The patented foldable smartphone has two hinge mechanism located at the left and right side of the display. In order to be able to use at as a phone, you’ll need to turn both the left and right sider of the display to the back.
While the the patent device is a bit weird, there are a couple of advantages of having a form factor like this. Of course, you’ll be able to use it as a tablet, but more important is the fact that a ‘dual-fold’ smartphone can also be used as a laptop. While typing on a glass could be a terrible experience for some users, this is arguably the most eligible smartphone form factor to make you feel that you don’t want to laptop for casual use.
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The idea of a ‘dual-fold’ device isn’t new. Xiaomi showed us a prototype device based on the ‘dual-fold’ form factor last year, thus becoming the first smartphone manufacturer to do so. However, Xiaomi’s device wasn’t ready for regular use and we don’t know whether or not the Chinese tech company has any plans to release a real device based on the form factor.
But what’s more important to not here is that Xiaomi is not alone who envisioned a ‘dual-fold’ form factor, the company is now joined by the global leader in the smartphone industry, Samsung. It’ll be interesting to see which of these two tech giants manages to beat the other and become the world’s first company to release a foldable smartphone that needs to be folded twice.
via Letsgodigital