A patent recently filed by Samsung shows that the company might be working on a phone with a roll-up display. The patent was originally filed back in November 2018, and it only resurfaced again last week on Let’s Go Digital.
The patent describes a smartphone with a display that can “roll up” to create an even larger screen surface. It features something like a 21:9 display, which is tucked inside the phone’s body that can be unrolled to increase the area – possibly by a couple of inches or so.
The top portion of the display has a bezel with all your typical smartphone sensors, which would slide up along the display to accommodate the extra screen area.
It’s unclear exactly how the unit would move or how the sliding mechanism would work – whether by an automatic system or by manually rolling the screen upwards – or what it would enable the device to do. However, unlike the Galaxy Fold, this one definitely looks more pocket-friendly.
Note that this is just a patent for the device, and the actual phone could come out looking completely different if it ever makes it into production.
