Last month the U.S. Patent Office published a patent application from Samsung revealing a possible next-gen foldable smartphone that includes dual hinges that could create a up to three distinct display areas. Our first report revealing a tri-fold Galaxy smartphone was published back in October 2020 with different details and patent figures.  We covered a secondary tri-fold Samsung patent in June 2021, that once again, covered different details and patent figures.

Samsung's current Galaxy Z Fold has a separate display on the face of the device when closed and a single fold-out display when opened on the reverse side. To cut down on costs, Samsung has been working on a single flexible display that could fold in various configurations, with one allowing a part of the display to act as the front  display that they have today. Using a Single flexible display would cut down on costs that would hopefully go towards reducing the retail price of foldable smartphones which is the single biggest barrier to reaching a larger market.

In short, Samsung's patent relates to an electronic apparatus that comprises: a first display foldable with respect to at least one axis; a sensor configured to detect the folding state of the first display; and a processor operatively connected to the first display and the sensor, wherein the processor is configured to: detect the folding state of the first display using the sensor; determine the display area of the first display based on the folding state of the first display; select an operating system (OS) corresponding to the folding state of the first display; and display a user interface (UI) on the display area of the first display, the user interface being generated in the operating system.

Samsung's patent FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D and 5E below include perspective views and diagrams illustrating the folding state of a display of a Samsung dual hinged 3-panel folding smartphone or tablet.

Apple's patent FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating a UI change due to a change of the folding state of a display of an electronic device.

(Click on image to Enlarge)

We ask that blogs and tech sites reporting on this patent only use one set of patent images and link back to our report. Samsung has been working on this since 2020 in Korea.

While Apple has many foldable device patents on record, it's unknown at this point in time when or even if Apple will enter this premium segment of the market that holds less than 2% of the total smartphone market.