Samsung has a new patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, published under the title and patent number US D813,864 S “Wearable Electronic Device”, which appears to be for a wearable with an extended display. Perhaps more accurately, it shows what looks like a smartwatch with a rectangular screen that extends along its width by around double the size of the frame. While it goes without saying that patents aren’t always the most accurate representations of what has been imagined, the screen is nearly uniform with the watch band. It’s also curved in such a way that, when worn, it would appear to hug the wearer’s arm, extending down the arm toward the elbow. Rather than a traditional watch band, the band used in the technical drawings seems to slide along a double loop. Finally, there is a single oval-shaped button on the watch frame itself, which looks eerily similar to the button found on the front of Samsung’s smartphones.
It bears mentioning that there is no guarantee that this Samsung device or anything at all like it will ever be released to market. However, there’s really not much of a description accompanying the patent and, as such, there’s no way to tell how practical the idea actually is. There’s also no way to tell what materials would be used to keep the display rigid or precisely what the overall size of it would be. Having said that, it seems to embody at least one clever way the display on a smartwatch or other wearable could be extended without adding substantial bulk to the overall watch.
With consideration for how off-the-wall some of the Korean tech giant’s past patents have been this new patent probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise. After all, this is the same company rumored to be in the process of manufacturing a smartphone with a completely flexible folding display. So there’s no doubt that Samsung could probably pull something like what’s shown in the patent if it set its mind to it. As mentioned above, however, this should be taken with a substantial grain of salt until the company comes forward with an official announcement.
