Patent Suggests Samsung May Create Its Own Foldable Handheld Console
Samsung Flip Switch
by Ollie Reynolds · Nintendo LifeA new patent from South Korean tech giant Samsung suggests that the company may be tinkering with a potential handheld gaming console.
That's not all, though. The patent suggests that such a device may follow in the footsteps of the company's Z Flip and Fold phone lines and boast its own foldable screen. As reported by 91Mobiles (thanks, Tom's Guide), the patent was registered earlier this month via the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), showcasing some pretty clear cut images of a device that closely resembles the Switch in design, but with a few obvious differences.
The biggest one is, of course, the foldable screen. Samsung has been utilising this tech for a few years now, implementing small, but welcome improvements with each iteration of its foldable phone devices. We've also got what looks to be recessed analogue sticks and buttons on either side of the screen, but it's not super clear exactly what these are or how they would function. We're also stumped as to how a foldable screen would actually be beneficial to a handheld console, but then we're not as smart as those tech boffins over at Samsung.
It's worth noting that Samsung itself might not be looking to enter the gaming industry, but could rather be producing foldable screens for other companies. Samsung Display collaborated with Nintendo to produce the screens for the Nintendo Switch - OLED Model, so it's entirely possible that it could be acting on another company's behalf.
Whether this device actually makes it to market is up in the air at the moment, but it's certainly an intriguing prospect. Based on the information that's been leaking out regarding the 'Switch 2', it's unlikely Nintendo is looking to implement foldable screen technology into its own consoles anytime soon; especially considering how darn expensive those fold phones still are.
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What could Samsung be up to here? Do you think a foldable handheld console could be even remotely viable as a mass market product? Let us know your thoughts with a comment.
[source designdb.wipo.int, via 91mobiles.com, tomsguide.com]
About Ollie Reynolds
Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry.
Comments 27
- 1
- Vyacheslav333
- 7:36pm
Well, if it will have its own OS and exclusive games – it will be a gaming console, indeed. But if it will run on Android, Windows, or an unchanged Linux – it's just a portable gaming PC, not a console.
I'm tired of people calling Steam Deck a console, while it's just a portable gaming PC.
I feel like the clamshell design only works vertically; looks awkward horizontal.
By the by, anyone who has one of those foldable phones, how are they? I'm not interested in getting one myself(not at this moment), but I am curious about other people's takes.
@N00BiSH I don't have one, but I've used my friends and it seems to not have any issues.
- 4
- JohnnyMind
- 7:40pm
Interesting, looking forward to seeing if Samsung will actually end up releasing such a gaming system and in that case which games it will have as those are what matters the most at the end of the day!
Just think, not so far off, we might all be hanging out on Samsung Life.
- 6
- ancientlii
- 7:54pm
Woo! I'm more than into it, I suggest it could happen a couple of times
- 7
- The-Chosen-one
- 7:54pm
Lol no just no, its already to crowded in this part. For me its Only nintendo as a handheld (hybrid) console and only steamdeck as a handheld PC (no its not a console) the creators define it as a handheld pc.
@N00BiSH - I had a Samsung Flip 4, loved the tactile form factor. Functioned fine, crease in the screen wasn't too noticeable.
However, after 11 months of genuinely careful use the screen film started lifting and cracking. By the horrendous sound the glass was going too. Took it to my local official Samsung repairer, had to do a factory reset before they'd work on it - and then they didn't have parts so I was without the phone for a week.
I changed to a S24+ before my contract was up, when EE had a special offer.
I don't know if the current Flip 6 is any better, but I'm loathe to risk another foldable and definitely not an expensive gaming handheld!
- 9
- splatoonaddict
- 8:11pm
@Vyacheslav333 that reminds me of the Steam Deck…🫨
That’s why I stick with Nintendo (it was also my first console ever, so I just can’t let go of Nintendo). My friend had a Steam Deck , (he switched to Nintendo😉) and while Steam itself is great to use, the Steam Deck exeperience was horrible (at least for me).
- 10
- Knightrider1
- 8:20pm
Maybe this will become the Switch 2 Lite eventually
- 11
- batmanbud2
- 8:25pm
How much you wanna bet it's digital only?
- 12
- datamonkey
- 8:28pm
I mean this sounds exactly like their existing foldable phones just without the phone part.
Why do companies that don't already have an established footprint in the gaming market keep trying to push their consoles? It has failed every single time and the companies that do this lose a ton of money. Every. Single. Time.
Why not invest your ideas and tech into already existing consoles, you can then make some money off the percent of sale but will avoid risking manufacturing a million deadweights that won't sell 100 copies?
- 14
- DanijoEX-the-Pierrot
- 8:35pm
@N00BiSH I don't own one yet but I'm thinking of getting a Motorola RAZR...later down the road.
- 15
- Jack_Goetz
- 9:18pm
Good luck, kid.
- 16
- thedicemaster
- 9:28pm
the way the analog sticks fit in the button holes is a neat idea, not so sure how well buttons in a hole will work though.
It'll probably just be an Android phone setup for gaming.
- 18
- Anti-Matter
- 9:42pm
I prefer dual screens than folded screen, no thanks.
@N00BiSH I own and use a Flip 5 currently. I've had it for over a year now and am still very satisfied with it. It folds neatly, so there is no dirt or dust that can gather on the screen. I would get a Flip phone again.
@N00BiSH I've had my Z Fold 5 for almost a year now, and so far, so good. It's fantastic for reading comics, and the stylus has pressure sensitivity so it's a pretty decent sketch pad as well. Screen folding aside, it's got great storage, ram, and processing power. I've accidentally dropped it pretty hard a few times, and it took ot like a champ, no shatters or cracks.
But I do worry of course, for the exact reasons @Mii_Duck and others have mentioned.
Suddenly it seems like everyone wants a piece of pie from the handheld market. We’ll have to wait and see which devices will really see the light of day.
- 22
- Servbot_EJ
- 57m ago
I don't really care for folding screens, or at least not yet. Still, if this means Samsung entering the gaming scene for real, I'm kinda interested!
- 23
- Dirty_Croc
- 56m ago
Already copying the Switch 2.
That`s the real Switch 2 !!!
@N00BiSH I use to run a phone store, they are OK but you have to be extremely careful with grit getting in the fold l, we had a lot with a slight brown line in the middle that never goes away. People open their phone hundred times a day and the fold tech just isn't to the point where it was serviceable for most people, and the cost vs functionality was a big issue. The fold from Samsung was 1200 dollars...
I think samsung flip looks like a gameboy advance sp from the future
Yeah hello Nintendo, we want clamshell models again! I want the Switch 2's Lite/Mini design to be clamshell. It's most definitely a selling point!
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