Hadlee Simons/Android Authority
TL;DR
- A patent for a future Galaxy Fold device shows a double-folding hinge.
- Interestingly, there’s a slot for storing an S Pen between two of the panels.
- We saw similar physical prototypes (minus the S Pen) at CES this year, so it’s possible this could become a reality.
Samsung has released a few very different foldables before, but they all have one thing in common: they fold once. At CES 2022, however, we saw working prototypes of phones that bend multiple times.
If you recall, the newest Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the company’s first foldable device to support the use of an S Pen. However, there is no place to store an S Pen in the phone. Instead, you can purchase a special case that stores the stylus.
Theoretically, Samsung could just create an S Pen slot similar to what it did with Galaxy Note phones. However, this could pose problems for other internal components of a foldable phone.
You can see the patent drawings (enhanced by LGD) below to get an idea of how Samsung might fix this problem.
Patent of the future Galaxy foldable device
Samsung filed this patent on July 23, 2021. Today, January 27, 2022, the patent finally became available to the general public.
As with any patent filing, there is no guarantee that this will become an actual product. However, with Samsung’s CES 2022 event behind us, it’s clear the company is all about foldable technology, and multi-hinged devices are almost certainly on the way.
As such, it’s very possible that this patent filing is a rough form of a future Galaxy foldable device.
The S Pen slot between the two back panels is quite ingenious. This solves the problem of having to hollow out a large part of one of the panels to store the S Pen, instead it only takes a relatively small space spread over two panels. It is a very economical use of space.
Of course, the question then becomes whether or not the S Pen falls out of its slot each time you open the phone. Presumably, Samsung would use magnets to hold the stylus in place when you don’t want to use it.
We’ll have to wait and see how this patent pans out. In the meantime, let us know what you think in the comments!
