Samsung patent reveals interesting Galaxy Z Flip design, possibly a cheaper version

Samsung is working on a cheaper alternative to the Galaxy Z Fold phones, tentatively called the Galaxy Wide Fold. The company has official confirmed the existence of a cheaper Galaxy Fold, and that would bring it at par with the Galaxy Z Flip series, which already has a cheaper alternative - Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE (buy on Amazon). Now, as it turns out, Samsung could also be working on an even more affordable option.

Patents don’t ever tell the full story, and they often don’t end up becoming real production devices. But they can give us a glimpse of what the company could be thinking about. That being said, 91Mobiles has discovered a Samsung patent for a flip phone that has an interesting looking cover display. The patent was filed on May 20, 2024 and was registered a few days ago, March 3.

For context, Samsung started with no cover display on its first Galaxy Z Flip phone, followed by a small cover display with limited functionality with the successor. Since the Galaxy Z Flip 5, almost the entirety of the cover was a touchscreen. With the patent, Samsung could be going back to a smaller cover display, and a round one at that.

The images show a Z Flip phone that has a smaller round display on the cover next to the cameras. The display is framed by the rest of the cover, which 91Mobiles believes is another display. We believe the patent is showing a singular round display. If this ends up being a real phone, the smaller cover display could make it a cheaper clamshell foldable. The front of the phone in its unfolded state looks like a normal Galaxy Z Flip.

How this would stack up against the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE would be interesting to see. The FE has a large cover display, so smaller one could help bringing the price down further. Of course, that depends on what specifications Samsung decides to go for. Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE costs $900 ($628 on Amazon at the time of publishing) so a $700 or even $600 Samsung flip phone would be quite exciting.