A patent filed by Samsung could give us a sneak peak at some new features in store for the Galaxy Fold 2 – and it looks like the foldable might be getting a price slash, too.
According to the patent, the sequel to the notorious Samsung foldable will be water-resistant and feature a revamped notification display. The patent was filed by Samsung in November and published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on Friday.
LetsGoDigital – who first spotted the patent – has created renders of what the Galaxy Fold 2 could look like if Samsung chooses to follow through on these new features.
Image: LetsGoDigital
Read our review of the Samsung Galaxy Fold
Despite being the priciest Samsung phone to date, the original Galaxy Fold was not waterproof. This was due to the connection holes necessary to produce the foldable hinge mechanism. Luckily, it looks as though Samsung plans to remedy this the next time around, putting the foldable on par with other popular smartphones underwater.
The patent states: “According to the embodiments of the disclosure, parts of an electronic device may be protected by applying a safer waterproof structure to a hinge area of the electronic device that employs a hinge structure”.
According to LetsGoDigital, the front display could also go through a pretty significant change, transforming from a full second display to a long, narrow space for notifications to chime in. While this may seem like a downgrade, the savings that Samsung would make with the smaller display could potentially make the smartphone cheaper. After all, the fascination with the Galaxy Fold stems from the larger, foldable display and not from the front display.
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One reason Samsung struggled to shift Galaxy Fold units was undoubtedly its £1900 price tag. If Samsung wants more people to shop its next foldable it will need to come up with a more compelling price. This narrow notification screen could be how it plans to do that.
Just because Samsung has filed these patents, that doesn’t mean the company has to follow through with them. However, it seems Samsung is considering how to make the Galaxy Fold 2 a more compelling deal than its predecessor and we’re all for it.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.