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Bend it like Gumby: 5 ways a foldable phone could look like (Samsung patents)

By Daniel Petrov

Updated: Mar 16, 2017, 4:22 AM

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We've been hearing it for a while now - Samsung is readying a smartphone with not just a flexible display, à la Galaxy S7 edge, but an actual foldable phone, which would require other elements of the phone to be bendable as well, starting with the chassis. How will Samsung achieve this remains still a mystery, but a treasure trove of patents it filed around possible variations gives a much needed hint.

Since 2012, the Korean conglomerate has filed for patents depicting a pull-out, rollable and bendable screens for flexible display gadgets. The pull-out stuff is rather interesting, as it essentially has to combine rollable and bendable portions as well, in the section where the sensor, power supply and control units are, in order for you to pick one side of the screen and stretch the whole gadget from a smartphone to a 7" tablet, for example. This one is probably pretty far off, though.

In fact, the most recent rumor about Samsung's elusive foldable handset states the welcome news that Samsung has gone with the most logical and desirable approach - a phone that can unfold into a small tablet-size screen, and then be bent back together to fit easily in your pocket. Is there a patent for that? You bet, here are the most noteworthy shapes and forms a potential foldable phone can take, according to Samsung itself, or, at least, its patent filings over the last few years, arranged chronologically. Cross fingers we get such a puppy early next year, as rumored.

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Daniel, a devoted tech writer at PhoneArena since 2010, has been engrossed in mobile technology since the Windows Mobile era. His expertise spans mobile hardware, software, and carrier networks, and he's keenly interested in the future of digital health, car connectivity, and 5G. Beyond his professional pursuits, Daniel finds balance in travel, reading, and exploring new tech innovations, while contemplating the ethical and privacy implications of our digital future.