A new Samsung patent discovered by LetsGoDigital reveals that the possibility of a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 wraparound display.
Galaxy Note 9 Wraparound Display
A recent patent published by the USPTO shows a concept employing a double-sided display that wraps around the handset’s edge. While the sketches are rather basic and don’t reveal very much else about the design, they focus specifically on this new display feature and serve to give us a sense of some new technology we could see from one of Samsung’s upcoming phones — the Galaxy Note 9 perhaps?
It’s been no secret that Samsung has been working on a flexible display for the past couple of years, and the Samsung Galaxy X features a form of flexibility we haven’t seen from the company thus far. However, the idea of wrapping the display around one side of the phone is an option that Samsung has been considering. And apparently, now it’s far enough along to file for a patent. While a patent application by no means guarantees that the technology is currently in production, it’s clear that the ideas are solid enough to lock down the legal side of the design. We may never see a device with this technology released, but considering we don’t know much about the Galaxy Note 9, there’s a possibility it could release with the new phone.
Considering that Samsung has applied for patents on a variety of foldable tech with very little of that coming to the market thus far, it’s by no means a sure thing that the Galaxy Note 9 will feature this new tech, but the mock-ups included in the patent application certainly look reminiscent of Samsung’s luxury flagship. The novel design of a Galaxy Note 9 wraparound display would certainly provide a new release with something that it needs to capture the attention of a finicky market.
After the recent release of the iPhone X and the revolutionary Face ID technology, there needs to be some major innovation from other smartphone companies if they hope to keep up. While Samsung will likely always capture a significant portion of the market due to their high-quality products and loyal customer base, they have a significant opportunity to offer something different and increase business with a design that hasn’t been seen before. The Galaxy X is certainly something unique, but as a niche product, it has less of an impact when compared to the Note and S lines. If we were to truly see a Galaxy Note 9 wraparound display, it would certainly be a step in the right direction for the Korean smartphone manufacturer.
Wraparound Display Patent and Sketches
As detailed in the sketches from the application, the design employs a standard form factor and presents a two-sided display that wraps around the right edge of the phone. Although the patent was just recently published by the USPTO, it has been submitted in Korea for several years at this point. This new technology could also be an evolution of “Edge” technology, which could also lend itself to a release with a Galaxy S line phone. While it’s not likely we’ll see it included with the upcoming S9 due to the decent amount of information that has already been leaked on the phone, it’s possible that we could see this wraparound display technology featured in a later release.
It’s important to reiterate that the chances of this technology making it to market are relatively slim. While it’s certainly possible that we could see this tech released with an upcoming phone, the fact that Samsung has decided on the foldable screen technology present in the Galaxy X seems to indicate that they’re moving in a different direction with screen technology. The patent was submitted back in 2016 and has only now come to light, so it’s possible that Samsung has abandoned the idea and moved forward with other options.
However, the possibility of a Galaxy Note 9 wraparound display has us excited. As mentioned above, it seems like it could definitely be an evolution of Edge design, considering the current iterations’ design of curving the display near the edges. We’ll have to wait and see whether this new tech is a simple legal filing to protect new research or an actual feature coming with a yet-unreleased Samsung phone.
