Особенностью новой конструкции является использование всей поверхности гаджета под визуальное отображение контента. В сложенном состоянии эта электронная "записная книжка" (возможно одна из будущих моделей серии Note) позволяет использовать даже грань изгиба, где предполагается размещать виджеты наиболее востребованных соцсетей и других интернет-сервисов. Причём владелец устройства может легко запустить необходимый контент, перетянув выбранный виджет на фронтальную или тыльную сторону сложенного пополам экрана. Также имеются широкие возможности конфигурирования контента в разложенном состоянии. Причём и в развёрнутом виде смартфон будет иметь два отдельных экрана, сопоставимых по размерам с планшетом.
Ранее Samsung запатентовал ещё целый ряд смартфонов оригинальных конфигураций, где удачно обыгрывается идея реализации гибких дисплеев.
Samsung Patent Reveals Possible Future Note Smartphone with Wraparound Display and Smart Spine Display Area
Last week the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Samsung that revealed a next-generation Note smartphone that could use touch and stylus input. Patently Mobile first posted a report on this basic design on April 18 as a "design patent." Last week the utility patent supporting this design came to light shedding a little more light on this design. The smartphone offers a wraparound display from full front to full back. The design also introduces us to a unique smart spine feature that allows a user to open an app on whichever side of the smartphone they desire. This could be a forerunner to a future full foldout display model that we covered back in January.
Samsung has an industry advantage in owning a display division. They should be using this division to push out new ideas that the competition wouldn't be able to easily reproduce economically or in a timely manner. The once had a huge lead in "phablets" and now they could once again gain an advantage by introducing one of several next-gen designs that they have on record, from booklet styled smartphones, to a scrollable design, to fold-out design through to a wraparound design as is presented in their patent filing presented below.
Samsung Smartphone with a full Wraparound Display
Samsung's patent FIG. 3 noted above is a cross-sectional view illustrating a smartphone with a wraparound display; FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating front and side faces of a smartphone; FIGS. 6A to 6C noted below illustrates the operation of displaying content on front, side and back display regions of a smartphone.
Smart Side Bar
Samsung's patent FIG. 8 noted below represents a new and unique idea for a smartphone. . The illustration below is an example of touching an icon displayed on a side display region and thereby executing an application corresponding to the icon.
Although Samsung's patent FIG. 8 illustrates the smartphone as unfolding to one giant display, it's only there to illustrate a unique feature, because in reality, this is only a wraparound display and not a display that unfolds.
The unique feature is that the user chooses an app to run by using a 'tap gesture' and then is able to slide the icon to either the left or right side of the display as needed or desired.
Samsung's patent describes it this way: "The side display region #802 may display a plurality of icons #807 for executing corresponding applications. If the user selects one of the icons on the side display region and then drags the selected icon leftward, the front display region #801 may display an execution screen #805 of an application corresponding to the selected icon.
Similarly, if the user selects one of the icons on the side display region and then drags the selected icon rightward, the back display region #803 may display an execution screen #806 of an application corresponding to the selected icon."
Samsung's patent FIG. 7 illustrates up and down arrows. Here the user's smartphone can hold a hundred app icons and can rapidly scroll up and down to find a particular app.
In Samsung's patent FIG 2 we're able to see an overview of the system. It's here where we see a 'pen sensor' which could indicate that this model is a possible future 'Note' smartphone model. The holographic display circuitry would make it ideal for their Gear VR as well.
Samsung filed their U.S. patent application back in October 2016. Considering that this is a patent application, the timing of such a product to market is unknown at this time.
