Next-gen Galaxy Folds could have punch-hole cameras

Samsung could be said to be running out of time to release the Galaxy Fold in 2019. Now, it seems that this first-generation flexible device has the additional problem of competition from its own OEM. The company has allegedly filed a patent that is somewhat like this device, and yet may have considerable improvements on its design.

For a start, this patent - which was apparently granted by the US Patents and Trademarks Office on May 28, 2019, suggests that the foldable device in question has an edge-to-edge display, whereas the Galaxy Fold may yet be released with (albeit minimal) bezels. This tweak is facilitated with a punch-hole camera similar to that incorporated into the Galaxy S10 flagship, as well as a thin speaker placed just above it.

This makes for a device that, while folding into a double-sided display as does the Huawei Mate X, does not require a sizeable divot in one half of this screen to house sensors and cameras. On the other hand, the patent diagrams also suggest that the resulting device has the drawback of being quite bulky when folded.

In addition, a singular punch-hole may look quite outdated by the time such a device might be ready for sale. On the other hand, as this patent was actually filed in 2017, Samsung is probably capable of ironing these potential deal-breakers out by now - should this document be genuine, of course.