Samsung working on a rollable phone, US design patent suggests

While rolling displays are not entirely new, they are a niche concept with only a handful of products out there. Companies like Oppo, LG, and Motorola have attempted rollable smartphone concepts in the past but they didn’t seem to grab the attention the companies hoped for (none of them became real phones). Now, it looks like Samsung is trying its hand at a rollable phone that will be a compact, Galaxy Z Flip like device that rolls out vertically into a bigger phone.

A new report from DomoAI in collaboration with leaker xleaks7 shows a US Design Patent filed by Samsung for a smartphone with a rollable display. Details are sparse but the patent does show a few images that suggest the phone, in its compact state, will have a small display with a thick chin bezel and two cameras on the back. The thick chin and enclosed sides suggest the screen will unroll at the bottom and the phone will expand moving vertically.

The chin is where the phone will likely house the motor and the rolled-up display. The bezels all around are quite thick as well but seeing as how this would be a first-generation device, that’s to be expected. While the patent does not show any buttons on the phone, the render by DomoAI shows a single button on the right side.

For now, there is no information on the screen size or the cameras. It is also unclear if this phone will actually make it to market or when. 

In 2021, Oppo showed off its Oppo X 2021 concept phone with a horizontally expanding display. Then in 2023, Samsung unveiled some prototype devices in the Flex lineup that had similar horizontally expanding displays. In the same year, Motorola also showed off its concept phone, but this one had a vertically expanding display, albeit only the screen rolled out without the frame.