Samsung’s vertically expandable phone switches between 16:9 and 21:9 aspect ratio

According to the usual rumor mill (this time via Ice Universe), Samsung is working on a smartphone that uses a vertically expandable OLED. When it’s closed, it sticks to a regular 16:9 aspect ratio. Unroll it and it stretches into a taller 21:9 display. You’re also supposed to be able to stop partway, so you can choose how much extra screen you actually need depending on what you’re doing.

The big selling point here is the compact size when it’s rolled up. It’s expected to be more pocket-friendly than a lot of today’s foldables, such as the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, while still giving you extra real estate when you want it.

The catch? All the mechanical components needed to make the screen roll in and out are going to take up quite a bit of internal space. Samsung spent years fine-tuning its foldable hinge mechanism, but this is an entirely different challenge. The phone will also need to keep up with today’s foldables when it comes to battery life. Balancing the weight as the phone physically expands could be another engineering headache.

Some earlier reports have floated a possible launch in 2028, a year after the rumored launch of the horizontally expanding “Galaxy Z Slide.” But plans can (and often do) change. Samsung Display has shown related prototypes before, and the company has filed patents for similar sliding and rolling ideas, so the idea isn’t coming out of nowhere.

Foldable phones have already found their audience, but a proper rollable smartphone still hasn’t made it into consumers’ hands. Oppo actually showcased a rollable smartphone prototype before Samsung, called the Oppo X 2021, back in 2020. However, it never made it to store shelves.

If Samsung can actually solve the mechanical complexity and possible battery life issues, this form factor could feel like a genuinely different alternative. It could allow near-continuous adjustments to the screen’s aspect ratio, letting content fill as much of the display as possible without leaving black bars. This would require Samsung to master the mechanics behind the new moving components, but it could also enable something existing foldables cannot achieve.

(Source: Ice Universe)