If you've followed the foldable scene over the years then you must've seen countless patent applications revealing purported designs for unreleased multi-hinge Samsung devices that can fold in more than one place. As Samsung is leading the foray into foldable screen technology, the company has obviously experimented with a lot of concepts. In reality, however, we shouldn't expect any of these unusual designs to make it into consumer products anytime soon.
The idea that patented designs aren't guaranteed to become reality isn't anything new. But this time around, Samsung's new president and head of mobile division, Roh Tae-moon, confirmed that the company doesn't yet see any practical use cases for foldable devices that have more than one hinge.
Although Samsung could technically design phones that fold even more times as a show of force, there's really no need for bragging given that the company is already leading the foldable market. Samsung's president believes that offering value is more important for customers, and a multi-hinge foldable device doesn't necessarily offer that, or at least, not yet.
Samsung might put a bigger focus on software and services next
It's also important to have an ecosystem for sufficient content and services before releasing more foldable variants, Roh Tae-moon said in the recent interview following Unpacked, adding that Samsung can release new foldable phones at an opportune time when there are enough services on those phones.
It sounds like the company might want to focus on improving the software experience of foldables before creating new designs based on flexible display tech. Nevertheless, Samsung's president does envision a future of foldable devices that are capable of folding multiple times and adapt, in size, according to the user's needs. It's just that it will take some time before that happens, and single-hinge foldable devices will remain the norm for the foreseeable future.
