Samsung’s new prototype smartphone screen rotates 360 degrees, report says

The foldable reportedly uses a different hinge that causes a less visible crease

Samsung has revealed a new smartphone screen that has a 360-degree rotating display folding both inwards and outwards.

The tech company’s subsidiary Samsung Display unveiled the new prototype display and hinge at CES 2023, The Verge reported.

The “Flex in and out” display, according to the company, can fold both inwards and outwards to a full 360-degree range, and the display also comes with a different hinge that causes a less visible crease on folding.

This new “water-drop” hinge design appears different from the one currently used in Samsung‘s Galaxy Fold models on sale since August 2022.

Apart from leaving a less visible crease, the new hinge reportedly will also help reduce stress on the foldable display which may help devices with long-term reliability.

Samsung may bring the new display to its upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 5 model as a report on the Korean site Naver earlier this week suggested the new device may have a potential design change.

The Fold is a traditional-sized smartphone that opens out horizontally into a large tablet-sized screen like a book.

While developing foldable phones is an impressive engineering feat, reviews of Samsung’s line of these products have pointed out some challenges these models have.

Not all app developers are currently making apps with interfaces that adapt to the resolutions of these phones, although Samsung’s own set of apps work well on them as do Discord, Outlook and Microsoft’s Office suite.

The company had said last year that it would make foldable smartphones mainstream by continuing to “listen and learn” from its users.

Samsung had said then that these devices remain in the ultra-premium smartphone category with broader use among the wider public likely to follow in the coming years.

Its next line of foldable devices is expected in August this year, but it remains unclear how the phone’s software dynamics would work when the phone is folded outwards.