OK, so we've already gotten foldable phones and we are back living in the future. Cool.
But it seems it's not going to stop with smartphones. No, no, we've already seen laptop manufacturers fiddle with folding screen tech. Most recently, Asus presented a new "Zenbook 17 Fold", which is shaped like a 17-inch tablet, but is actually a tablet. It just happens to be all covered by a screen, which folds through the middle.
Zenbook 17 Fold OLED
The tech community's reaction to these new "all-screen" laptops is mixed. Most simply ask "Why?" — since people will prefer to use said laptop with a physical keyboard instead, that lower half of the screen seems like it'll just inflate product pricing without providing much use.
We can kind of see this new type of laptop working for some — especially since it can convert into a 17-inch tablet for leisure viewing, and transform into a compact laptop when needed for work on the road. Plus, it's a full-fledged Windows 11 Pro machine in a slate form.
The many ways to use a Zenbook 17 Fold
Samsung has another idea
It seems Samsung is also toying with the idea of a foldable laptop, but it's coming at it from a different angle. Instead of reinventing how we use laptops and stretching the screen all the way to the keyboard area, Sammy is simply asking the question — "What if we just fold it twice?".
A recently unveiled patent shows how that Samsung idea might work — you fold the laptop once, screen over keyboard as you would do with any other laptop. And then fold it once again on itself, like it's a piece of delicious emmental that's supposed to go on a sandwich.
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The keyboard portion of the laptop is split through the middle, allowing for a folding hinge to be place there, and the screen makes use of Samsung's folding OLED expertise to also collapse inwards. As a result, you get a square-shaped piece of high-tech kit that's much more portable than a regular laptop.
Will this be useful?
Now, patents are not guarantees that Samsung is actually working on this. It may have just been an idea that popped up in a brainstorm session and Sammy thought was good enough to explore further.
But whether or not this will become reality is still an unknown. The usefulness of it is the biggest question here. While a laptop that folds twice is undeniably cool and will definitely be compact enough to stuff in an extra-large pocket — the cost behind the tech may inflate the price of the laptop beyond the point of desirability.
Preslav, a member of the PhoneArena team since 2014, is a mobile technology enthusiast with a penchant for integrating tech into his hobbies and work. Whether it's writing articles on an iPad Pro, recording band rehearsals with multiple phones, or exploring the potential of mobile gaming through services like GeForce Now and Steam Link, Preslav's approach is hands-on and innovative. His balanced perspective allows him to appreciate both Android and iOS ecosystems, focusing on performance, camera quality, and user experience over brand loyalty.
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