It’s been a number of years since the flip phone went the way of the dinosaur, but if a new Samsung patent is any indication, we may soon see the first smart flip phone.
The company has filed a patent with the Korean Intellectual Property Office for a smartphone that can be folded in half. According to Engadget, “the device would also have a secondary screen, presumably on the outside, that’s activated when it’s folded shut, according to the claims. The screen even has a complex “semiautomatic” powered folding action as one of the options.
“Of course, patents don’t usually lead directly to products,” Endgadget’s Steve Dent cautions, “but this one stands out because Samsung is reportedly working on smartphones with bendable OLED screens.”
It would certainly change the landscape of the smartphone industry. Since the advent of smartphones, consumers have sacrificed a degree of portability for an increase in productivity. If a folding phone comes to be, it will certainly give users new functionality. Not to mention the avenues it would open for new apps and products. The shape and construct of smartphones phone has largely gone unchanged since they came to market, and such a change will certainly create a need for new cases and other accessories.
Time will tell if Samsung actually intends to bring it to the consumer, but this one bears watching.
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