Check out Samsung’s Folding, Sliding Display of the Future

samsung wants the gadgets of the future to be more than just folding in half. The message was clear CES, where the smartphone maker showcased flexible display concepts. It was among the most noticeable Flex Hybrid, It has a screen that folds and slides to resize.

The Flex Hybrid folds up like a notebook, but unfolds for a tablet-sized display with an adjustable screen. The display can change between 10.5 and 12.4-inch screen sizes thanks to its sliding and folding design. In addition to resizing the screen, the prototype can also switch between 4:3 and 16:10 aspect ratios. While the Flex Hybrid is just a concept, it shows Samsung exploring what the next evolution of foldable phones and tablets could look like.

The Flex Hybrid is just one of several mockups Samsung detailed in January. 3 press release. There’s also a 17-inch scrollable display previewed in September and a digital cockpit concept designed for self-driving cars. My colleague Eli Blumenthal, who has the opportunity See Samsung’s concepts in person At CES, he said these designs renewed his excitement about the future of foldable devices.

Samsung showed off its display concepts at CES 2023.

David Katzmaier/CNET

Concepts like these don’t always result in real products, but the Flex Hybrid feels like the best fit for Samsung’s current product strategy. Foldable phones make up only one part of the wider phone market, however Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip It is included in the range of Samsung mobile devices. The company’s early entry into the foldable phone space has given it an advantage in terms of market share, as Samsung accounts for over 88% of the foldable smartphone market. Om Day.

Samsung’s mobile experience business head TM Roh suggested in an interview last August the company is already thinking about what’s next for the Z Fold and Z Flip. The introduction of new concepts such as Flex Hybrid emphasizes this point.

“What you see is everything [at CES] plus more,” he said in reference screen concepts Samsung showed it at CES last year.

But as foldable phones continue to evolve, Samsung will face more competition. Motorola and TCL both have shown their own rollable phone concepts. Oppo’s upcoming Find N2 in late 2022 also shows a lot of promise thanks to its lightweight design. As my colleague Sareena Dayaram writes.

While Samsung is trying to make foldables a more common device in our daily lives, its goal is not to replace regular phones.

“I wouldn’t see any other potential new form factor that’s just bar-style, or just foldable, or any other form factor dominating the market,” Roh said in a previous interview. “But I see different categories coexisting.”