I can’t wait for these leaked Samsung foldable and rollable phones

The latest patent rumours and leaks suggest that Samsung’s next big move in the foldable phone market could create quite a buzz.

With its Foundry division facing significant losses and supposedly disappointing sales from the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, Samsung seems ready to try something new.

The recently leaked patents (via Android Headlines) reveal some jaw-dropping designs for foldable and rollable Galaxy devices that could redefine what we expect from the best folding phones.

Samsung’s rumoured tri-fold Galaxy phone is something I’m particularly excited about. Imagine unfolding your phone not just once, but twice, to reveal a tablet-sized screen.

Of course, Honor released its Mate XT Ultimate in September, but it’s currently only available in China and it’s unclear when or if it will receive a global release at all. One of our contributors went hands-on with the Mate XT and was impressed, so I’d love to see Samsung give it a go.

According to the leaked patent designs, this tri-fold device has a three-panel structure, with one of the three sections noticeably thicker than the others.

This thicker panel would house the crucial components like the camera, battery, and processing hardware, balancing functionality with portability. When folded, it maintains a sleek form, almost mirroring a regular phone, but when fully extended, offers the space and versatility of a tablet.

Samsung’s expertise in foldable screens gives them a leg up in making this a more global reality, but it’s not without challenges. The biggest hurdle appears to be economic viability.

Producing a device this complex while keeping the price reasonable is no small feat. But if Samsung can crack the code, this tri-fold phone could be the game-changer the company needs to win new customers and secure a lead in the foldable market.

However, if you thought Samsung’s tri-fold idea was ambitious, the concept for a rollable Galaxy phone is on another level.

Unlike traditional folding phones that open horizontally, this rollable phone would expand vertically. Think of a compact, almost square device (similar to the Galaxy Z Flip 6) that extends upwards into a traditional phone shape when you need more screen space.

For people who crave compact devices but don’t want to sacrifice screen real estate, this could be the ideal solution. Rollable screens allow for a flexible expansion mechanism, which means we could have phones that fit neatly in a pocket yet expand for a full viewing experience.

I’ve never used a clamshell phone for more than two weeks, but as a long-time iPhone 13 mini user, and a fan of smaller phones, this is certainly something that makes me excited.

Of course, patents don’t always lead to actual products. So we don’t know if Samsung will ever release this type of device.

What we do know for sure, however, is that next year’s Samsung flagship series will be called the Galaxy S25 series, and we’ll also see Galaxy XR headsets in 2025.