Samsung's Wraparound Continuous Smartphone Display Concept Detailed In Patent Filing
Samsung has proven it is not afraid to venture into new and innovative smartphone designs, hence the Galaxy Fold with its foldable screen. In addition, a recently discovered patent application reveals that Samsung is at least considering a smartphone with a full front display that wraps around to the backside of the device.
This concept essentially yields a dual screen setup, in terms of being able to see things on both the front and back of the phone. However, it's not actually two displays—it is one continuous screen with three parts that merge together. They consist of the following:
- A full front display
- A curved top section
- A back display that covers three quarters of the rear
A single display panel extends over and around the top, and down three quarters of the backside, resulting in a double sided smartphone. What's the point?
The main reason for such a design is to eliminate the front facing camera, and the challenges it entails. Front cameras have been the bane of smartphone makers and their attempts to offer a full front screen—manufacturers have dabbled with traditional bezels, display notches, punch-hole cutouts, and motorized pop-up cameras.
By extending the display to the back of the phone, a user could tap into the rear camera to take a selfie. The added benefit of this type of design is that the rear camera arrangement on most smartphones is typically superior in quality to the front camera arrangement. Usually this means more pixels, but also better image quality as a whole.
Extending the display in such a fashion could drain a smartphone's battery quicker than is desired. To get around this, only one side of a smartphone would be lit up at any given time. According to the patent application, a user could hover their hand over the front or back screen to make it active. This design could also work with a stylus, such as Samsung's S Pen, which hints at this being a possible Galaxy Note variation.
Another possible scenario that is mentioned in the patent application is using the double sided smartphone to bridge the gap in language between two individuals. If two people are trying to converse and they speak different languages, the rear display on the phone could offer up a real-time translation of what the person holding the phone is speaking, and vice versa.
Whether this phone sees the light or day or not remains to be seen. For now, Samsung clearly has some work to do with its folding display technology, as the Galaxy Fold has run into some launch issues.
Images Courtesy of LetsGoDigital
