Samsung: After the success of the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold, Samsung seems to be adding a new foldable smartphone model to its range. According to the website LetsGoDigital, which obtained a copy of a patent from the South Korean giant, the prototype is a 3-in-1 smartphone that folds double, with two hinges and three parts of the screen.
Published by the site last Friday (24) Samsung’s new smartphone folds into three different Z-shaped sections. When unfolded, the device looks like a small tablet, but longer than the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Due to the design, one of the three parts acts as the main screen, with a fingerprint sensor on the display. The back has a triple array of cameras and a USB connector.
Equally differentiated is the division of the cell’s internal electronic components into the three sections. An area visualized in the patent shows that only the front and rear segments contain the device’s internal batteries and circuit boards, while the center portion apparently lacks components, which only serve to provide rigidity and stability to the device.
When is the new ‘Tri-Fold’ coming out?
The documentation revealed by LetsGoDigital is not the first recorded by Samsung Electronics related to this type of multifunction device. However, this version brings a hitherto unknown feature in foldable smartphones: a fingerprint reader under the screen.
While this latest 42-page patent, registered with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), was released on December 23, 2021 with an apparently well-resolved design, it is no guarantee that Samsung will release the device as early as 2022. Patents or leaks do not always lead to a possible commercialization model, although the solution shown is a natural evolution for collapsible items.
