A new Samsung patent has revealed the plans for a unique foldable device by the South Korean tech giant, as per a report by LetsGoDigital. The patent was reportedly filed with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) last year. The smartphone design, as described in the patent, shows a sideways display that can extend one half of the screen to make it a landscape-sized one and curve around the edge to become a part of a regular smartphone body again.
As per the images in the patent, the folding display is located on the upper part of the smartphone and can fold around the edge towards the back, where it will sit next to the vertical rear camera setup. When unfolded, an extra portion of the screen will expand and add to the top half of the display to convert it into the size of a landscape display. In a nutshell, imagine the smartphone display having an upside-down L-shape.
As per the report, there is a hinge on the lower left-hand side, plus three magnets in place to make the display stay stuck at the back when folded. The screen will reportedly come with ultra-thin glass for protection.
This queer arrangement may be used to watch video content in the top half and use the lower half of the display for running other apps. But the L-shape also makes the display prone to damage a lot more than your regular smartphone design. It is just a patent for now and may or may not see the light of the day as a commercial product.