Samsung Patents an Extended Display That Could Feature on a Square Phone

Samsung is possibly working on a square-shaped smartphone with an extendable display. A new patent was spotted online which shows a small square device with an extendable display that pops out from either end of the device via a sliding motion. This new patent comes a month after the patents of two Samsung technologies, named Flex Magic and Flex Magic Pixel, were seen in Europe’s trademark registration portal, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The technology was described as an “expandable screen for smartphones”. The US patent could be for a similar technology, although the document does not mention these terms.

The patent was first spotted by Website Rating in collaboration with tipster David Kowalski from xleaks7. The report shows a PDF of the patent which mentions the United States Patent Application Publication and shows the name of the applicant as Samsung Display. The filing date for the patent is June 22, 2023. As per the patent, Samsung is registering a new display technology that can be extended from multiple directions.

The main innovation in the Samsung display comes in the form of “prevention of the spring-back action of a metal layer at the end of a sliding display.” This helps mitigate the issue of panel cracking due to consistent strikes of the metal layer with the display panel and adds longevity to the device by making it more robust. The patent also mentions that both OLED and LCD displays can be used with this technology.

While the Samsung patent itself does not mention a square-shaped smartphone, the report highlights it as such. However, the ambiguous wording in the patent suggests it can also be used for smart TVs, AR devices, smartwatches, or an entirely new gadget. There is no official information regarding this. Further, there is no word on Samsung working on a square-shaped smartphone with an extendable display, but it might be under wraps.

Based on a report by GizmoChina on the Flex Magic Pixel patent, the new patent appears to be quite similar. However, there are some significant differences as well. The Samsung Flex Magic patent describes the technology as an “expandable screen for smartphones” and “smartphones in the shape of a watch,” whereas the new patent does not use such language.