

Samsung isn't afraid of pursuing some pretty out-there ideas. The South Korean company was the first to debut a palm-stretching phablet form-factor, and earlier this year, became one of the first to introduce a folding flagship phone.
So, what's next for the Seoul-based behemoth? Well, a bizarre new patent suggests Samsung is investigating the possibility of adding multiple stacked touchscreens to the same handset to create a fan-like effect. Intrigued? Yeah, us too.
- Samsung Galaxy Note 10 release date, price, camera, leaks
- Samsung Galaxy S10 review
- Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus review
The new patent, unearthed by the folks at LetsGoDigital, was filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, or KIPO, and approved in March 2019, before finally being published online on June 11, 2019.
The design shows three separate displays joined at a single point on the bottom bezel, enabling them to be spread-out like a handheld fan, or a colour swatch. The illustrations filed with the patent show Samsung envisioning one of the displays being rotated 180° to create a Nintendo DS-esque dual screen approach.
Interestingly, there are no physical volume, power or Bixby-summoning buttons anywhere to be seen on this handset – something that Samsung was widely believed to be working towards with its Galaxy Note 10 series, before dropping the idea.
It's unclear exactly what applications the swivelling, fan-like design will have, but it's a very unique approach to smartphone design. Perhaps a focus on gaming or Augmented Reality could help us see this new design in an entirely new light.
The Nokia 7373 had a similar design approach, although that was only used to swivel out the physical keyboard – differentiating it from rival flip phones that were popular at the time of its release in September 2006.
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
Perhaps Samsung will take a similar approach and reinvent the Nokia 7373 with cutting-edge technology, much like Motorola is widely-expected to do with its seminal Razr smartphone with pliable OLED technology later this year?
Of course, multi-national companies like Samsung patent new technologies all the time that never make it into commercial products. It remains to be seen whether the South Korean firm ever uses the design seen in this patent.
As a former Staff Writer for T3, Aaron writes about almost anything shiny and techie. When he’s not barking orders at Alexa-powered microwaves or gawping at 5G speed tests, Aaron covers everything from smartphones, tablets and laptops, to speakers, TVs and smart home gadgets. Prior to joining T3, Aaron worked at the Daily Express and and MailOnline.
-
Samsung's flagship phones will reportedly maintain one key advantage over iPhone
Apple is said to be struggling to match Samsung in a specific tech area
-
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge official prices leaked... by Samsung
The brand has leaked the price of its own device
-
New Samsung Galaxy foldable launch event leaked
This could be the date the Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 arrive
-
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE still on for this year, but one leak curbs our excitement
This is an odd choice
-
Expected Samsung foldables could arrive later than expected this year
It could be a late launch for these foldables
-
Apple's iPhone just did something it never has before
This is an unprecedented event for the iPhone
-
Samsung hits pause on Android 15 rollout, but your phone might be lucky
Your delayed Samsung One UI 7 software update could be delayed some more
-
Samsung Galaxy devices could lose a unique feature after all
That's despite recent claims to the contrary