A significant number of reports have claimed that Samsung is planning to release an extendable sliding phone next year alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 9 and the Galaxy Z Fold 9 Ultra. New design patents being filed by Samsung now give us a clue about what this phone could possibly look like if it does hit shelves next year.
Galaxy Z Slide?
Samsung's sliding phone could look like this next year. | Image by Samsung
A patent (US 2026/0333595 A1) filed just last month shows a phone concept where the body of the smartphone can be pulled upward to extend the display. Unlike traditional candy bar phones, however, the phone shown here — which earlier reports haved called the Galaxy Z Slide — has two separate parts making up the whole.
There is a lower portion that users will hold during use and there is an upper portion that you can grab and pull upward to extend the display. The rear cameras and the flashlight are situated on the upper portion, though there is a hole cutout on the lower portion through which the cameras would be able to capture photos when the phone is completely retracted.
In the patent, Samsung lays out the basic operation of this phone. The display is extendable, a technology that we have seen in action before in prototype units, and the chassis of the phone guides the sliding motion.
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What I found particularly interesting here is that, when the phone shown in the patent is completely retracted, it almost resembles the layout of the wildly successful Galaxy Z Fold 8. Which indicates that, if this really is the final design, then Samsung is very confident in this aspect ratio for the foreseeable future.
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But will this be Samsung’s final design?
When retracted, the patent shows a phone with a similar layout as the Galaxy Z Fold 8. | Image by Samsung
The question now is, is this Samsung’s final design? Will this be what the Galaxy Z Slide or Galaxy Z Roll will look like if it comes out next year?
The thing is, a previous Samsung patent had shown off a different style of sliding phone. Samsung has also thought of a design where the phone is a traditional candy bar shape and can be extended sideways to look more like the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra does today.
A previous patent by Samsung for a sliding phone. | Image by GSMArena
However, earlier this year, Samsung actually showed off a sliding phone prototype at MWC 2026. You know what shape the prototype was? Precisely the same shape as the one shown in the latest patent from October, with only minor cosmetic differences.
Samsung's sliding display prototype at MWC 2026. | Images by Android Authority
I think it’s very likely that this will be the finalized design of any potential sliding phone coming next year from Samsung. Whatever layout the company opts for in the end, it’s the app experience that will make or break these phones.
Apps will have to perfectly scale with the display being extended because, unlike normal foldables, this phone won’t just have two aspect ratios for its display. Users can decide to use different sizes throughout the day and apps will have to adapt.
The iPhone Duo launched without proper app support and it was dragged through the mud for it by reviewers, while some users also wish that apps looked better on the phone.
The app experience on the iPhone Duo has a long way to go. | Image by Reddit
Samsung might get a little more leeway as this will be a first-of-its-kind phone but it won’t be long before customers start asking why they bothered paying so much for something that doesn’t work right.
Because, let’s get one thing straight, this phone will be very expensive. At least more expensive than the Galaxy Z Fold 9 and the Galaxy Z Fold 9 Ultra.
I would have chosen a different form factor
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 has a much more intuitive layout, in my opinion. | Image by PhoneArena
While the concept of a sliding phone is something that interests me very much — I was wishing for such a phone when display creases on foldables still bothered me — I would have opted for a different layout with this one.
The Galaxy Z Fold 8 has been a commercial hit because it’s small and easy to use for everyday tasks when folded and unfolds into a much better aspect ratio for content consumption than other foldables. If I were Samsung, I’d have made a shorter and wider phone that could be extended sideways to resemble an unfolded Fold 8.
Though, who knows, perhaps Samsung might one day make such a phone if its sliding phones take off. After all, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 has seven generations of foldables behind it that, in my opinion, have a less intuitive form factor.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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