Approximately two years ago, Xiaomi announced the Mi Mix Alpha concept phone. Though it’s not gone on mass production and might never do that, this phone made a huge stir when displayed publicly. At the moment, it still remains the first and as yet the only surround displays smartphone that has been officially introduced. However, many other smartphone makers have been shared their thoughts about similar phones. This is not surprising at all. We mean surround-screen smartphones not only look outstanding but should come with innovative technologies. Of course, they would cost an arm and a leg. But be sure, there will be many customers ready to pay a fortune. We have already heard about Honor, OPPO, Motorola, and Tesla phones with similar approaches. Recently, LetsGoDigital provided the self-made 3D renders of the Samsung surround screen smartphone.
In 2018, LetsGoDigital reported on a Samsung phone with a double-sided display. Now, in 2022, Samsung still doesn’t give up and applies for another patent for a surround screen smartphone.
In fact, the South Korean company filed a patent with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) in July 2021. Samsung Electronics. It’s called a ‘Method and apparatus for operating functions of an electronic device having flexible display’. The 46-page documentation was released on November 18, 2021, and is also included in the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) database for the worldwide protection of the patented technology.
Prior to this, when Samsung filed other patents, it was basically focusing on the flexible screen. But now, the focus is on the control options.
The wrap-around display smartphone from Samsung can be operated via the touchscreen and via stylus. Samsung has already shown with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 that the company is able to make the S Pen compatible with a flexible screen. By the way, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is the very first foldable phone with S Pen support.
Samsung Surround Screen Smartphone
The patented Samsung Galaxy phone has a large flexible display that covers the entire front, the sides, and the back of the phone. At the top, we can see a relatively wide frame edge. As you can guess, it’s for various sensors and cameras. The power button is placed at the top – since there is no space on the sides to place physical buttons.
One of the funniest things about surround screen smartphones is that the volume rockers can be replaced by virtual keys. In the documentation, we can also find pages explaining how to install virtual game keys and shoulder buttons. They can be placed on the side, making them easily accessible when gaming in landscape mode.
Icons and shortcuts are displayed on the right side. On the other side, we can find status symbols such as the time, battery indicator, and network strength. But you can reverse them from the settings – depending on whether the user is right-handed or left-handed.
On both sides, the phone might carry camera sensors. Though in the renders we see three camera sensors on one side and one camera on the other side, for a surround screen smartphone, it’s senseless.
With a simple swipe, the user can move content from the front display to the rear screen and vice versa. But depending on the application, both sides can display content. For example, this can work when viewing the Photo Gallery. One side shows the full photo gallery, while the other side can show one selected photo.
