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A newly published Samsung Patent reveals Future Foldable Form Factors that go far beyond a Single Fold

1 cover Samsung Patent Report from Patently Apple

Samsung is holding their Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event tomorrow, February 1, 2023 where they will unveil their next-gen Galaxy S23 smartphone line-up along  with their next-gen Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 laptop featuring a high-end OLED display. What we won't see is anything related to foldables, which is usually covered in their August event. With that said, earlier this month the U.S. Patent Office published a patent application from Samsung that covers next-gen foldable form factors that will go beyond a single fold.  

Samsung's patent FIG. 5 below illustrates various examples of folding devices that go far beyond a single fold like the Galaxy Z Fold. Samsung illustrates a wide variety of folding options for double folds providing four panels on the inside and possibly up to 4 panels on the outside or backside.

More specifically, Samsung notes that in FIG. 5, "the various forms include a form (half fold) in which two areas are formed in the electronic device (e.g., a flexible display), a form (e.g., tri fold, z fold, or single open gate fold) in which three areas are formed in the electronic device (e.g., a flexible display), a form (e.g., double parallel reverse fold, double parallel fold, double gate fold, roll fold, accordion fold, half fold then half fold, and the like) in which four areas are formed in the electronic device (e.g., a flexible display), and a fold (e.g., half fold then tri fold) in which more areas are formed in the electronic device (e.g., flexible display). The electronic device may include housing structures rotatably connected with each other and a flexible display. The housing structures may be rotated into a corresponding form."

2 Samsung patent covers multi-panel devices beyond a single fold - Patently Apple report Jan 31  2023

Samsung's patent FIG. 6 is a different future smartphone form factor in the form of a slidable/expadable display that could add inches to the display when needed to view larger content or a video.

The heart of the patent deals with allowing the owner of a future multi-foldable device or a device with an expandable display, to control what could be seen on the expandable display, an individual panel or group of panels of the display.

Samsung's patent notes that "To display a screen matching the user's intent when the state of at least one housing of the electronic device is changed, the user may set, through settings per application in a settings menu, whether to continue to display an execution screen of the application displayed on a pre-change on-display area, in the on-display area corresponding to the post-change state, when the state of at least one housing is changed.

However, the user may not be aware that it is possible to set, through settings per application in a settings menu, whether to continue to display the execution screen of the application displayed on the pre-change on-display area, in the on-display area corresponding to the post-change state, when the state of at least one housing is changed, and may thus fail to set a screen matching an intent of the user.

Further, the user may not be aware of an electronic device use pattern and may fail to make settings per application to match the use pattern.

Further, it may be burdensome for the user to find, from a settings application, a settings menu for setting whether to continue to display the execution screen of the application displayed on the pre-change on-display area, in the on-display area corresponding to the post-change state, when the state of at least one housing is changed.

Aspects of the patent are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages set out in this patent. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide an electronic device for providing an execution screen of an application may display a screen to prompt whether to continue to display the execution screen of the application displayed on a pre-change on-display area, in the on-display area corresponding to the post-change state, in a case where a preset condition is met when the state of at least one housing is changed.

For more details on this, review Samsung's patent application US 20230014641 A1.

While Samsung is working on multifold or manifold form factors, Apple may have their first single-fold flexible display device in the 2024-2025 timeline, according to rumors. 

10.0F3 - Patently Extra News

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