A design patent was filed by Samsung in the middle of 2018 and was kept under lids until this past July. The illustrations submitted with the patent to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) show a double foldable smartphone with a sliding physical keyboard. LetsGo Digital teamed up with industrial designer Sarang Sheth to create 3D product renders of the device. Not all aspects of the phone are revealed in the patent so the render borrows some of the camera details and color scheme from the Galaxy Z Flip 5G.
The biggest addition to the currently available Galaxy Z Flip models according to the patent is the use of a double hinge which would allow the device to be folded twice and when fully opened, there will be one screen divided into three parts of equal size. The double hinge will allow the device to be folded in several different ways and the phone’s UI will automatically change depending on how the device is being used. One part of the screen will always be available to users even when the device is “closed” allowing the user to receive notifications, incoming phone calls, and engage in some social media conversations. The issue here is that exposing one of the parts of the screen leaves it open to getting damaged.
The device could be equipped with the sliding physical keyboard
The sliding physical keyboard would be the same size as each part of the overall screen. The keyboard will be accessible to the user regardless of how the phone is folded. As we alluded to earlier, the patent does not discuss the camera system. If Samsung does go ahead and build this as its third Galaxy Z Flip device, we would expect it to include flagship-type cameras.
A double hinge would be behind the capabilities of the new model
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 could be unveiled in August 2021. Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 2 which opens from a 6.2-inch phone to a 7.6-inch tablet, the Galaxy Z Flip fits easily into a pocket and opens up to provide the user with a large 6.7-inch smartphone screen whenever it is needed.
