The newly released Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is proof that Samsung enjoys experimenting and innovating with its smartphones, and based on a recent patent application that the company registered, even more ambitious smartphones are on the way.
Samsung is investigating the possibility of a phone with displays on the front and back, and if that's not weird enough for you, the rear display would also be translucent, according to the patent application(opens in new tab) (via XDA Developers(opens in new tab) and SamMobile(opens in new tab)).
Regular readers of TechRadar may recall that Samsung has previously been associated with transparent phone displays and panels that stretch and compress via a rolling mechanism. It appears that some of the same technology is used in this filing.
This might actually be beneficial.
You wouldn't be able to see through the phone if we said it had a transparent display, but you would get a phone that can display text and images on the back while still appearing to have a standard rear case (with the manufacturer logo and so on).
Consider it as the phone's backside always-on display, for example. It might be used to display notifications or updates from a specific social media feed, for instance. Even if your phone is lying face down on anything, you might be able to see who is calling or what the weather is going to be like today.
These submissions do not ensure the existence of any products, either now or in the future, as is customary with patent applications. They do, however, demonstrate concepts that businesses are investigating and may choose to include in actual devices.
Research: Smartphone innovation is still alive and well.
There have been numerous remarks made in recent years about how the smartphone business lacks creativity. After all, there are only so many ways you can build a slab of glass, metal, and plastic with a display attached to the front.
However, phone manufacturers continue to push the envelope of what is feasible. One example is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4, which has a folding primary display and a tiny secondary display that can show you your alerts.
Research: Smartphone innovation is still alive and well.
More is coming, as evidenced by this recent Samsung patent, maybe in the form of translucent phones akin to those from Westworld's fourth season. We now have folding and rolling phones, and flexible display technology is constantly improving.
Samsung is the company most capable of making a phone with a transparent display work. In terms of foldable phones, the business is at the forefront; it appears that Apple and Google will follow. Additionally, Samsung has already worked on transparent TV technology.
Google is also getting ready to release a foldable phone.
