Samsung's next-gen foldables may have equally flexible batteries

Some research out there suggests that the electronics of the future will not be the rigid slabs of plastic, glass or metal we know today, but rather will come to be made of state-of-the-art materials that allow them to be much more flexible, perhaps even up to the point where they are made using methods similar to 3D printing.

This may even go for their batteries: the rigid yet fragile power-packs of today would be completely incompatible with such a design. The WIPO has published a new patent attributed to Samsung that may indicated the OEM has taken the first steps on the road to just such a reality, particularly for the next generation of its most premium mobile devices.

The claim is made for a type of battery that could fit into a Galaxy Fold-series device without the bother of being made of 2 separate conventional components. Instead, one cell flows into the next through a given device's hinge thanks to a connecting central strip.

This part of the battery is designed to be made using a layering process, as with the cells themselves. However, its "hinge" is described as composed of "base material", "mixture layers" and "insulating separators". This, presumably, allows the active charge-bearing layers in the cells to interact. They power the theoretical phone through a unified protection circuit module (PCM) and connection to its main board.

This breakthrough has many obvious advantages for the foldables that may incorporate it. This includes the potential for less complex hinge mechanisms, refinements in this form-factor's overall design and the potential for greater safety compared to that associated with traditional battery technology.

However, as the patent has only been added to the WIPO database on June 25, 2020, it may be some time before this new advance in flexible technology makes it to the market.