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Over the years, phone makers have shown off their phones that Stretching, He twists and fold. But inside a secret room at Samsung Display’s headquarters in South Korea — a room that’s never been opened to the press before — I got a first-hand look at the company’s vision for the future of smartphones.
Along one wall was a set of concept displays that could eventually make their way into future mobile devices. I wasn’t allowed to touch the prototypes, but they were mounted on machines that repeatedly bent, folded and twisted the displays, to show their range of motion.
Watch this: I went to Samsung’s secret display lab and saw the wildest phone concepts
Consumer technology shows like CES and Mobile World Conference have become platforms for companies to showcase their products The most ambitious innovations Many of them never see the light of day. However, it does show how manufacturers are exploring ways to make our devices more advanced Intuitive and compelling. Samsung is one of the biggest players in the foldable phone market, having released the clamshell model We standsimilar to the book fold And even the phone-tablet hybrid Galaxy Z Tri-Fold. The company is expected to unveil the Galaxy Z 8 series next week Galaxy Unpacked event.
During my visit to Samsung’s global headquarters in June, I got a rare behind-the-scenes look at how the company operates Tests the latest mobile device screensplus an exclusive preview of what might come next. Samsung hasn’t shared specs for its concept display, but here’s what I saw during my tour — and what it could mean for your future phone.
Flex S can be folded into a Z shape.
One concept, called the Flex S, opens and closes in a Z shape (not to be confused with the Galaxy Z TriFold, which forms a C shape and folds closed like a booklet). The Flex S opens to a tablet-sized screen, which might be perfect for watching movies. That’s what I appreciate about the TriFold, which I reviewed while recovering from strep throat. While lying in bed, I enjoyed having a larger screen for streaming, which I can simply fold up and close when I’m done.
See also: From extreme heat to half a million folds: a rare look inside the Samsung display factory
The Out Foldable has screens on the outside of both panels.
Another prototype, called Out Foldable, is similar to the reverse foldable book prototype. Instead of placing the larger screen on the inside, as Samsung does with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the design places both displays on the outside and switches to a wider, small tablet-like design, similar to some early foldable devices like the 2019 Huawei Mate.
This is the configuration I’m most wary of for several reasons. First, it can be difficult to avoid scratching or cracking the wraparound screen. And second, I’m not sure I really need a touchscreen on the back of my phone. But I have to admit it looks great nonetheless.
The Flex Slidable (right) can expand horizontally.
Flex Slidable works as the name suggests. It can be thrown onto a wider screen, which could be useful for gaming or watching videos.
My first thought when I saw this concept was, “LG is rolling in its grave now.” (Pun intended.) Company A was upset Rotatable smartphone At CES 2021, but the product was canceled after the company It closed its mobile division After only a few months. In 2023, Motorola also unveiled a Rotatable smartphone concept With a screen that extends upwards, its parent company, Lenovo, showed off laptop concepts at this year’s CES that extend both Horizontally and vertically. We’ll have to see if Samsung’s ideas make it out of the lab.
The Flex Hybrid folds and opens to a wider screen.
Finally, Samsung combined elements from its other concepts to create what it calls the Flex Hybrid. This model can also be opened and expanded using a foldable screen. This makes the design more compact while ensuring that the screen is not damaged.
The foldable device with a foldable component provides additional screen space without adding bulk. One of the biggest drawbacks of the Galaxy Z TriFold is that it feels thick when the three display panels are closed. This approach can eliminate the need for an additional folding panel, instead using a screen that rolls up when you need more space and folds up when you don’t.
Besides these concepts, there were a few other ideas that caught my attention – quite literally, in the case of one device boasting an impressive 5,000 nits peak brightness. For reference, the Galaxy S26 Ultra It can reach a peak brightness of 2600 nits. There was a lot to look at inside, but this level of luminance can make it easier to look at your screen in bright sunlight.
Looking at a 5,000 nits display indoors may not be very comfortable, but it can be useful in bright outdoor settings.
Finally, I saw a prototype of a mobile phone screen with bezels so thin that they were almost invisible. To highlight how narrow the 0.6mm border around the screen is, Samsung placed a phone-sized device on top of the tablet’s screen. The two displays are combined to form a single image of the cathedral’s colorful windows. From a distance, it was hard to tell there was a phone in the middle of the tablet; The image looked smooth without interruption due to the phone’s thick borders.
With such thin bezels, it’s hard to tell there’s a portable display in the middle of this tablet.
The extended screen extending from one end of the phone to the other may seem more immersive, but I also wonder how difficult it will be to hold the device without accidentally tapping something on the screen.
As with all concepts, it’s not clear if or when Samsung will work on these display technologies in its future mobile devices. But seeing these concepts provided a rare and fascinating glimpse into where smartphones could be headed.
