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Samsung Designing Z-Fold Smartphone for 2020 Release
August 25, 2019
 
Samsung's Galaxy Fold is set to release in September, but a new patent published days ago confirms a new foldable design for foldable smartphones in the foreseeable future. Samsung's patent for a Z-Fold foldable smartphone was published by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on August 7, 2019, though it received approval at the end of May and was filed at the end of 2018. In the case of Samsung's Z-Fold design, its foldable "Galaxies" of the future may be able to fold at least twice, with one section of the screen folding forward, the other folding backward. It's the equivalent of folding a sheet of paper on its front, then turning it over to fold its back. The "folding forward" and "folding backward" creates the Z-Fold look. The patent for a Z-Fold smartphone was filed by Samsung Display, so the focus is on the screen and not all the other components such as cameras, microphones, gestures, virtual buttons, and so on. The Z-Fold design would come to a Galaxy smartphone is going fully bezel-less as more components of the device are placed into the screen (cameras, fingerprint sensor, earpiece, etc.) or eliminated (such as the 3.5mm headphone jack). The Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X feature the current fold design similar to a book. The book folds over from one side to the other, in one place, which is how Samsung designed the Galaxy Fold. Samsung's promotional material shows that the Fold works like a butterfly "folds" its wings.

The Z-Fold design will work like a brochure in that it will fold in multiple places. All the so-called buttons that have been present on smartphones will go into the display or give way to gestures. Smartphone screens have been widening, thanks to Samsung's push for bigger screens in its Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series, but as smartphones gain wider screens, phones require less bulk in order to remain pocketable. The struggle to achieve that portability with ever-widening displays is real, leaving OEMs to search for an even better solution than trying to make phones so ridiculously thin that they can be bent in half if too much pressure is applied (e.g., iPhone 6 Plus!). Samsung's new Z-Fold design patent could showcase a 10-inch screen folding into a 6.6-inch screen. Foldables do have a place in utility and purpose; they're not just being created for the purpose of "coming up with something new for the sake of making more money," as some would say. The new Z-Fold patent Samsung has received will move the Korean juggernaut to make devices with wider screens will maintain their portability. Samsung's Z-Fold design patent isn't original to Samsung; in fact, Russian manufacturer Caviar created a foldable iPhone Z (named after the Z-Fold design) earlier this year, though it's nothing more than a concept currently. Samsung rival LG Electronics has patented a Z-Fold smartphone with the "Z" fold design that has dual displays. Samsung's Z-Fold patent provides for one display, which is similar to how it created the Galaxy Fold.
 
Recently, photos surfaced of a device from LG that had a large main display that folded once, with a second display that was smaller and could be folded out. It’s not one single display — there’s a small gap between displays — but it is a concept for a phone that could effectively have a display the size of three phones.

Figure 1: Samsung’s Z-Fold Concept

Source: LetsGoDigital

Another benefit of the Z-Fold-type display is that the device would only need one display. The current Galaxy Fold actually has two displays, as it folds inwards — so the main display is on the inside of the fold, while the phone display is on the outside for one-handed use.