For those that are familiar with Samsung, it’s no secret that the firm has developed a penchant for flexible displays. Ever since the Galaxy Note Edge we’ve seen Samsung work in a flexible display on some sort into their high-profile devices. This year, we even saw the Galaxy Note 7 launch in a standard configuration with curved edges both sides of the display, which make use of a flexible display. For some time now, we’ve been hearing rumors of Samsung launching a line of devices that make use of just flexible displays, but flexible hardware through and through. Patents have been filed over and over again, and now a new report, as well as some new patents, suggest that the name for a new line of products from Samsung could be called “Galaxy Wing”.
A new set of images from a recent patent filing show off a device that can be folded flat into a phone size device, stretched out even longer to represent a sort of keyboard-cum-display, and even the option to fold around someone’s wrist. If such a device were ever to make it to market, the “Galaxy Wing” moniker might not be such a bad idea, but given that these are just patents, it’s hard to see just what Samsung is really up to. Some reports point to a device launch of the Galaxy Wing next Spring, but these are probably ambitious as patents like these don’t mean that a launch is imminent, they’re all about protecting the future. If Samsung file these patents now, it prevents others from launching devices with similar designs and functionality in the future. It’s smart business.
The potential of flexible OLED displays has been explored a number of times now, most famously by LG with their G Flex line of smartphones that have a curved display from top-to-bottom. Traditional smartphone form factors are still the order of the day, even with curved displays worked into them a la the Galaxy S7 Edge however, and it will probably be some time before such devices become a reality. Underneath that display there are a raft of different components that will need to flex with the device, making the dream less of a reality until these problems can be solved.
