Samsung Galaxy phones are currently at the forefront of flexible display technology, with handsets like the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip bringing interesting new form-factors to the mass market.
Rumors have been circulating, though, that the South Korean phone maker is working on utilising its flexible screen credentials to produce a true wrap-around display smartphone, one where the screen bends totally around the frame (like the Xiaomi Mi MIX Alpha).
Well, excitingly, we've just got our best look yet at just what that Samsung surround display handset could look like, with this new video trailer revealing a phone with a stunning wrap-around display and camera-hiding sliding mechanism.
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The Samsung Galaxy phone shown in this video comes courtesy of future technology designer Giuseppe Spinelli, who produced the video based off an official Samsung patent application unearthed by tech site LetsGoDigital.
In that patent, which was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and published on October 29, 2020, numerous devices with wrap-around screens and sliding mechanisms are depicted, and the most notable show devices where the frame of the handset is not visible as it is covered by the flexible display.
The key technology that makes this possible is the handset using a transparent housing, which can transmit light. One cool capability that this allows is the phone to act like a chameleon, detecting the color that surrounds it or that it is on, and then projecting that colour on its wrap-around display (although surely this will make finding the phone harder if you forget where you put it!).
As for the sliding mechanism depicted here, this allows the camera array and sensors to be hidden and therefore not interrupt the all-screen display, ensuring a futuristic look.
Here at T3 we think this latest concept design looks incredible and shows that sliding phone mechanisms definitely still have applications going forward. Of course, the dream is to have under-screen cameras, but we think we're still going to be waiting some time before that is made a reality (and certainly without compromised camera quality).
The wrap-around display tech also looks quality and seems like a natural evolution of Samsung's famous Infinity displays with curved edges. A phone with a screen that completely covers its frame would be luxe. Could this tech make it into the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21? Unlikely, but we can hope.
