Behold the Galaxy Z-Fold, yet another potential foldable phone by Samsung.
This foldable tryptich phone unearthed by Dutch tech patent archaeologists Let’s Go Digital expands from a standard candy bar to a large tablet display thanks to a triple-folding display.
How many different foldable formats has this company patented after failing to release the regular Fold and pushing it back multiple times? I’ve lost count. Let’s see.
There was the patent for an improved folding mechanism on the Galaxy Fold 2, which was filed before the Fold came out and will hopefully solve all the problems in the incoming Galaxy Fold. I know, confusing.
Then there’s the patent for the wraparound phone that uses a foldable display all around the phone but doesn’t really fold. OK. Cool.
And then Samsung got this one for a foldable phone that actually has detachable screens because, why the hell not, right?
But wait, we are not done yet, because we have a foldable phone made for gamers with physical Nintendo DS-like controls.
Not happy with that, Samsung also patented a rollable Galaxy that made its screen expand sideways (perhaps the best concept of them all).
And if that weren’t enough with rollables, there’s also this vertically rollable galaxy (maybe the weirdest concept yet).
Don’t stop me now, people: Here’s one that is a cool clamshell design too, just like the incoming foldable Motorola Razr.
And this patent of a foldable with wings too, basically a straight copy of Xiaomi’s foldable prototype.
That’s basically it — nah, just kidding. Because the company also patented a foldable phone with an outward screen design like the Mate X.
Now I think we may be really done — if we don’t count Samsung’s foldable wristband phone.
I understand that companies need to protect themselves from other companies copying them and that Samsung previously committed to release one new foldable per year, but this is getting ridiculous. Especially when Samsung is actually aping other manufacturers in these patents.
So perhaps, Samsung needs to concentrate on releasing phones that don’t break within a day. Or a Galaxy S10 that can actually fight against the photographic power of the Huawei P30 Pro.
Come on, Samsung. I know Apple is sleeping, but you can do this.
