Future Samsung phones could come with an expandable screen

You may have thought phones with transparent backs such as the Nothing Phone 2, or foldable phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Fold or Galaxy Flip5 pushed the envelope of smartphone designs.

Now it seems, Samsung is ready to push the limits further if a recent patent is anything to go by. A patent in the US suggests Samsung is working on a phone with an expandable display. Intrigued? Read on.

What is Samsung’s new patent all about?

A patent dated June 2023, spotted by xleaks7, suggests that Samsung is working on a display technology that allows for it to be extended in multiple directions. The patent, filed in the US, comes after similar patents were filed at the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), for technologies named Flex Magic and Flex Magic Pixel. The technology was described as an expandable screen for smartphones in the patents.

Interestingly, the wording of the patent is such that it could very well apply to other electronics such as TVs, AR devices, or even smartwatches. Samsung also appears to have taken care of the issue of the panel cracking due to the metal layer constantly striking the display panel, with “the prevention of the spring-back action of a metal layer at the end of a sliding display.” What’s more, it also mentions that both, LCD as well as OLED displays can be used with this technology.

Other brands working on smartphones with extendable screens

Samsung however isn’t the only company that is working on a smartphone with an expandable display. Oppo is working on a similar concept, and for quite some time as well.

The Oppo X 2021 is a rollable concept phone, which features an OLED screen that can be extended from 6.7 inches in size to as much as 7.4 inches, with a dynamic sliding frame.

The phone’s chassis is a mix of a fixed and a sliding frame, which helps protect it no matter what size it is expanded or retracted. All, at the touch of a button on the side, are used to lock or unlock the device.

What’s more, all of this happens at a constant sped, without any accidental folding or creases, thanks to an in-built roll motor powertrain. Like the Oppo X 2021, we don’t know if or when Samsung will release such a device in markets globally.