Tech
Though only a concept device, Samsung’s “multi-foldable” shows the tech giant is looking into even wilder foldable phones.
Hot off launching the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3 foldables, Samsung is already looking ahead towards the future.
Samsung Display, a division of Samsung, posted a video on YouTube showing off a smartphone with not one, but two folds. The phone was on display at the International Meeting of Information Display (IMID) in Seoul.
While the entire screen can be used for multi-tasking, it can also be folded down to the size of a smartphone. The video doesn’t show it being folded, but it appears to fold like a “z-fold” pamphlet, not to be confused with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold, which only has one fold.
7.2 inches
When completely unfolded, the phone's OLED display is that of a small tablet.
Samsung is calling this unit the “Samsung Flex In & Out”, though an identical Samsung device shown earlier this year was subbed the “S-Foldable”. It appears to be running Android and the camera array is facing the same way as the primary screen, which is awkward, and the thickness of the unfolded phone means it will be a behemoth in anyone’s pocket. Not to mention, it’s probably really heavy.
Samsung’s unconventional design isn’t the first of its kind. TCL’s “tri-fold display concept,” was shown off last year. The TCL phone has a smaller 6.65-inch display, with two very noticeable creases and hinges that make creaky sounds when folded based on the prototype we played with.
With this device still being a prototype, it’s unclear if it will ever come out. That said, we thought the same about foldables not so long ago, and look at where we are now. If the tablet-sized phone makes an appearance at CES 2022 in January, it may signal an eventual release. But we all know CES is where products go to become vaporware.
In the meantime, you can satisfy your foldable fix with either the Galaxy Z Fold 3 or Z Flip 3. The latter in particular has a better chance at ever catching on with its much lower $999 pricing.