Samsung Patent Hints At A Three-Way Folding Smartphone With Slide-Out Keyboard

Samsung was the first company to launch a smartphone with a foldable screen. With three foldable smartphones in the markets currently, the South Korean giant might be looking to experiment further with its foldable designs, if a new patent is to be believed. According to a report in a Dutch publication, Samsung had filed a patent in Korea in 2018 that has now surfaced to hint at the company’s vision for a future folding smartphone. The patent shows a three-way folding system, with two hinges and a slide-out keyboard.

The patent cited by LetsGoDigital shows a dual-hinge smartphone design, indicating at a three-way folding system. Further, there is a slide-out keyboard that slides out of the bottom third of the smartphone. The patent has been filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and contains eight clear product sketches that show what a three-way folding smartphone could look like. The dual-hinge folds the smartphone into three equal display parts, with the keyboard sliding out of the bottom third of the smartphone. The patent says that the smartphone is remarkable slim when folded. The design also features a slide-out keyboard that slides out of the smartphone’s body. The patent sketches suggest that that keyboard will use touch-sensitive keys in order to keep the design slim.

Folks at LetsGoDigital even created a 3D render of the possible design that could come out of the Samsung patent. From what the patent and the LetsGoDigital imagination of the Samsung smartphone hints, this seems like a very bold step from Samsung (like the first Galaxy Fold), if the company ever goes ahead with it. It would also be interesting to see what the real world application of such a device would be, since it tries to be all – a smartphone, a tablet, and maybe a laptop (given the keyboard layout). It is also important to note that this patent does not mean that Samsung will make the smartphone in the near future. A lot of times, companies patent technologies but never go ahead with the launch.

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