The author | fanfan
Source| Jiguo Editorial Department
Speaking of folding screens, there are no more than two forms.
First, "up and down folding", the size of the screen remains unchanged, but the volume after folding is only half of the original, which is convenient for carrying. #数码科技要闻 #
The second is "left and right folding", folding up to the same as ordinary mobile phones, but after unfolding, the screen is twice as large as ordinary mobile phones, somewhat similar to a small tablet computer.
At present, major domestic mobile phone manufacturers have successively launched their own folding screen mobile phones, such as Xiaomi MIX Fold, OPPO Find N, Huawei Mate X, Honor MagicV, Motorola Moto Razr and so on. In terms of form, these products without exception use up and down folding or left and right folding.
but... When it comes to playing the folding screen, Samsung is still the only "big guy".
Following the Galaxy Z Flip series and galaxy Z Fold series, Samsung has "opened its brain" and integrated "up and down fold" and "left and right fold" to create a new folding mobile phone product.
After seeing a slippery ordinary folding mobile phone, this innovative design is quite curious.
The phone was named the "Galaxy Z Multi Fold".
Judging from the exposed patent diagram, the Galaxy Z Multi Fold scale is closer to the rectangle, and the overall size looks not small. After the screen becomes larger, the visual effect is better and various operations are more convenient.
The device is very diverse in folding methods, not only horizontally, but also vertically, and when folded horizontally, the screen can be folded both inside and outside.
In horizontal folding mode, the screen can also be hidden inside to balance folding and storage protection.
Given the variety of folding methods, the hinges of the device are also relatively complex.
Judging from the patent diagram, the Samsung Galaxy Z Multi Fold uses a "cross-shaped" hinge, this innovative design has high requirements for the hinge, one is the service life problem; the other is the screen crease problem, the arbitrary folding in both directions, the difficulty is not a star and a half.
Earlier, in order not to damage the screen after folding, the Xiaomi MIX Fold still left a certain gap in the middle position, which is a relatively safe way of folding.
I don't know, how will Samsung design it on the new device?
In short, from the patent diagram, the Samsung Galaxy Z Multi Fold has really put a lot of effort into the folding method, making people more curious about its specific appearance. Although Samsung officials have not leaked any information, well-known blogger @Dohyun Kim revealed that the device is under development.
Recently, based on Dohyun Kim's description and previous Samsung patent documents, the LetsGoDigita website, together with graphic designer Parvez Khan, produced a high-definition concept rendering of Samsung's "Galaxy Z Multi Fold", allowing everyone to see the specific appearance and more details of this phone.
From the exposure rendering, the Galaxy Z Multi Fold roughly restores the patent diagram in the folding way, there are two folding methods, you can fold inward, you can also fold outward, after folding will form a "double-sided" mobile phone!
When not in use, fold horizontally to protect the screen, even the phone case is saved.
According to Dohyun Kim, the device has a screen size larger than the 7.6-inch Galaxy Z Fold3. At present, among the folding screen mobile phones, the Huawei Mate X2 and Xiaomi MIX Fold screens have reached 8 inches, and it is not known whether the Galaxy Z Multi Fold will be closer to this.
On the back of the Galaxy Z Multi Fold, the "cross-shaped" hinge can be clearly seen, which restores the design of the patent diagram.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Galaxy Z Multi Fold is also expected to be placed half-folded like a laptop, and then, the lower half of the screen can display controls like a virtual keyboard, while the top of the screen displays content.
Such an innovative design has also won the praise of many netizens, indicating that it can be folded casually.
In addition to the appearance, the details of the device are also exposed, but the amount of information is not much.
The first is the photographic aspect. According to the breaking information, the device may use a combination of off-screen selfie camera + rear triple camera. In this way, the screen can be used to the maximum.
Previously, Samsung used the UPC solution on the Galaxy Z Fold3 to embed the smartphone front camera into the display panel, so that the camera can only be operated when needed, and the entire display can be used 100% when the front camera is not turned on. However, compared with the punched screen, the picture quality performance is average.
In other aspects, it is only known that the machine is expected to have a built-in 4400+ mAh battery, as well as support for 25/45W wired fast charging and wireless charging functions.
To further enhance the interactive experience, the device is said to also be equipped with an S Pen stylus.
There's a problem here: the Galaxy Z Multi Fold is so versatile that it's hard to fit the S Pen in the shell. Therefore, the storage of the new S Pen is likely to be designed with a storage slot like the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
At present, there is no clear information about the software. But according to people familiar with the matter, the Galaxy Z Multi Fold will run the latest Android version. At the same time, Samsung is also actively developing a new user interface (UI) for the Galaxy Z Multi Fold to improve the overall user experience.
At present, the research and development of this Samsung Galaxy Z Multi Fold has been put on the agenda, which means that it is not far from the mass production of the machine.
However, if the design is completely patented, the difficulty of research and development may not be small.
The first is the screen material, how to ensure that the device is folded hundreds of times without cracking. There is also the problem of hinges, which form a shape similar to "cross", which is more technically demanding, and if it is to achieve mass production, then the technical difficulty that Samsung will challenge is unprecedented.
Another potential problem is water resistance. At present, it is not known how waterproof the device is. If I remember correctly, the Samsung Galaxy Z3 is the only foldable model to date that is dustproof and waterproof. Given the dual hinge and complex design of the Galaxy Z Multi Fold, it remains to be seen whether it will be waterproof.
If everything can be solved perfectly, then Samsung really plays the folding screen to the extreme!
In other words, if you look at the design alone, how do you think this kind of "casually folded" mobile phone? If it were you, would you consider getting started?