Smartphone manufacturers are often coming up with very innovative devices in the last couple of years, especially when it comes to the design. Smartphones designs have evolved pretty quickly: we saw glass and ceramic bodies, borderless displays, pop-up cameras and so much more.
But behind these unique and interesting designs, there are hundreds of patents and trials and errors. Of course not every patented design comes into existence, but they give us a glimpse of the future. Some of them are bound to make it to the market. So, what looks weird and unique right now, may become the norm in the next few years. Some may even become best sellers!
So today, we look at the 5 most interesting patents filed in the past few months, which could see the light of the day.
NOTE: You will notice that most of the patents mentioned here come via Letsgodigital. They are doing a great job at summarizing new patent filings and creating renders based on the available information. So, special thanks to them for making our lives easier.
1LG foldable phone with a transparent screen
What may seem impossible right now, sure could be a reality in a few years. LG has patented a foldable phone with a transparent screen. The astonishing patent filed at USPTO (US Patent and Trademark Office) leaves no space to doubts: in a sketch from Letsgodigital, we can clearly see two hands behind a big foldable smartphone that looks like a tablet while unfolded, similarly to the Huawei Mate X. The display is not completely transparent but it includes an opaque section which supposedly contains all the hardware components. The phone also comes with very narrow bezels around the display which makes it look even more gorgeous. Someone is already thinking that such a device might have important implications in the AR sector… What do you think about this patent?
2Samsung smartphones linked magnetically
Smartphones are becoming bigger every year. And smartphones manufacturers are constantly studying new solutions to provide big displays in compact bodies. After borderless displays and foldable phones, the next innovation might be smartphones linked magnetically. Or at least that is what Samsung has thought about, considering its recent patent. The new smartphone design varies depending on how two phones get linked, thanks to magnetical connectors placed on the borders. The new design allows linking two phones in several different ways. A cylindrical magnet on the side allows connecting them side by side, or you can even connect them on their backsides. The user can even opt for different formats after sticking the phones side by side and forming a unique big display, as you can see from the above patents image.
3LG notebook-like foldable phone
A year ago, LG patented a phone with a form factor similar to the Samsung Galaxy Fold. The patent was published by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), and it shows a phone with two displays. The external display that you can see when the phone is folded contains a curved part on the edges which can show time, date and notifications. When the phone is partially unfolded, the internal display folds inwards like the Galaxy Fold making it notebook-like. At the same time, the external display can be used on both sides in order to let two users watch videos independently. Indeed, the phone even features two headphone jacks which can be used for the two parts of the external display. And that is not all, as the LG patents even include two batteries on the same phone. Everything seems to be dual on this device, evidently focused on multimedia.
4Samsung’s Weird Monitor with a 3D display
Last but not least, Samsung patented a very weird 3D display. Unlike the other patents above, it is not a smartphone design, but it is a device that can be connected to a smartphone. We do not know exactly what it is, but it seems either a monitor or television which will be able to reproduce 3D content. The patent filed at USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) mentions a “three-dimensional display device and user interfacing method therefore”. By using its integrated camera, the new device can even create 3D content such as 3D objects and a 3D user interface. The integrated detection sensor can detect all the contacts with the object in a 3D space, so it may be possible to interact with the monitor with a touch screen or a touch pen. Even though the pictures are very detailed, they are not enough to get a good idea of what the 3D display will look like. Indeed, while the renders show a flat view, the 3D display may arrive with a cubic shape.
5Oppo smartphone with pop-up and side slider displays
A patent which deserves a mention is definitely the one filed by the Chinese manufacturer Oppo and spotted a few weeks ago. It consists of phones with displays popping up from both the upper and the left side. The first device shows two displays: a classic one on the front and a smaller pop-up display on top of the phone. The second phone is equipped with a side slider display coming out from the left side which seems to have the same dimensions as the main screen. The secondary display on each of these phones may be useful in several scenarios, such as watching videos with the primary display and showing remote controls on the secondary one or making it tablet-sized with both the displays opened or checking notification while playing games, and much more.
Which patent do you like the most? Is there any patent you think will surely hit the shelves in the coming years? Did you find even more interesting or weird patents around the web? Let us know in the comment box below.
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