Not content with releasing folding phones, Samsung is reportedly working on a 'double-folding' phone. Details are scarce but Nikkei Asia claims the mind-bending mobile could launch later this year. Talk about doubling down...
According to 9to5Mac, Samsung has already patented a number of double-folding smartphone designs. The latest sketch, which surfaced in 2020, shows a central display panel with two 'wing' panels (below). Could this be the device that Nikkei Asia is referring to? It's possible.
"It's a smart move," Jeff Pu, an analyst with GF Securities, told Nikkei Asia. "Smartphones look too similar already. Betting on foldable phones also means higher selling prices."
There's more than meets the eye to the design, too. One of the smaller panels could double as a touch-sensitive keyboard to boost productivity (assuming a tiny, palm-sized laptop would help you execute your job at speed).
Samsung already offers two-panel folding smartphones, but there's talk that the revolutionary three-panel 'double-folding' display will boast an aspect ratio of 16:9 or 18:9, thus avoiding the scaling issues that can affect the current Galaxy Z Fold 2 (which has a more elongated 25:9 display).
Samsung filed its first double-folding phone patent back in 2018, so this rumour has been bubbling away for a while now. Time enough for Apple to reportedly build its own folding phone.
It also ties in with last week's rumour that Samsung will accelerate its upcoming mobile devices to plug the gap filled by the Galaxy Note (Samsung has confirmed it is thinking of skipping the Note this year due to chip shortages).
We await the world's first double-folding phone with bated breath. In the meantime, here are our latest guides to the best smartphones, best Android phones and best iPhone deals.
MORE:
Hands on with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Our pick of the best smartphones 2021
Apple rumoured to be building folding phone prototypes
