Samsung's patent for a clamshell foldable phone revealed

While more and more phone makers are jumping on the foldable screen bandwagon, it is hard to tell which design is going to become the standard for this particular market. Right now, it looks like Samsung has chosen the inwards-folding design and Huawei is all in on the outwards-folding one, but both makers are still open to experimentation. A recently publicized Samsung patent shows that the company is also considering outwards-folding designs that could be integrated in its upcoming clamshell models.

Motorola is rumored to bring back the RAZR clamshell phones with foldable screens, and, apparently, Samsung is preparing to launch a similar model, as revealed by a patent filed on September 21, 2018. One problem with Samsung’s Galaxy Fold model is that the two halves of the phone do not stay completely flat when folded. The new patent for the clamshell phone appears to be solving this issue via a more streamlined hinge mechanism that allows the two halves to move relative to each other and flatten on the fold. There is also a special slider on the back that locks the two halves when unfolded.

The patent shows only an outwards-folding state, which is quite unusual for a clamshell phone, at least when compared to the rumored foldable RAZR that follows the old school inwards-folding design. Clamshell phones usually have a smaller display on the upper side, but there is no indication of such a display with Samsung’s patent. However, since this is just a proof of concept, Samsung can easily make the halves fold inward and add a smaller display on the half that does not have the slider.