We recently reported on a Samsung patent for a smartphone with a transparent screen that could be used both traditionally, to display notifications and information, and as an always-on display. In recent hours, another patent for an even more specific technology has emerged on the internet: a display that can fold up to entirely wrap the wrist.
The patent depicts a flexible display that can be folded as needed to provide numerous form factors that can adjust to your needs and tastes. This new patented technology from Samsung, for an instance, can fold four times at 180 °: a schematic illustrates that the panel may be folded at right angles, generating a curved screen resembling a waterfall. Another illustration demonstrates how the screen can be folded 180 degrees to create a semicircular viewing area. This screen is so adaptable that it may be worn on the wrist, as seen in the diagram, almost like a smartwatch. Smartwatch?
In reality, it’s unclear whether the patent pertains to a smartphone or a timepiece with phone functions. The Nubia Watch, the first wearable with a flexible display that wrapped virtually the entire wrist, had a somewhat comparable form but was not well welcomed by critics. As a result, Samsung might adopt this concept, refine it, and offer us something truly unique.
At the moment, though, these are only hypotheses, and the flexible four-part folding screen is nothing more than a paper diagram. As a result, we don’t know if this project will ever be realized.