What you need to know
- Samsung has filed a patent for a foldable gaming handheld console.
- Based on the included patent drawings, the handheld would be somewhat similar to the Galaxy Z Flip 6, but includes space for gaming controls.
- The patent was originally filed in 2022 but was just granted on November 11.
It's not all that often that we cover patents, but Samsung might be cooking up something rather exciting. As of November 11, Samsung was granted a patent for an "electronic games console," as the 91mobiles spotted a listing that appeared on the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) website.
According to the listing, Samsung Display Co., Ltd. filed for the patent in September 2022, and it was registered as of November 12. Unsurprisingly, there aren't any other specifics about the internals of this handheld.
However, there are a variety of patent drawings that were published, giving us an idea of how it might work. At first glance, this handheld looks pretty similar to the Galaxy Z Flip 6, with a couple of major differences.
The first of which is that the screen faces outward, a concept that we have yet to see Samsung implement outside of some concept designs to showcase at various trade shows. In fact, the only companies to really venture down that path have been Huawei and Honor, as the Honor V Purse was released in 2023, while Huawei's Mate XT tri-foldable phone was revealed in September.
Durability concerns likely play a big part in why we haven't seen outward-folding phones, making this potential gaming handheld even more intriguing. Adding to the intrigue is how you interpret the patent drawings. On one hand, it looks like it features one screen, but a couple of the drawings indicate that there might actually be two different screens that join together when unfolded.
Then again, we could be looking at two different gaming handhelds, with one that folds, and another one that doesn't. If it is indeed two different handhelds, it would help explain the differences in controls when looking at Figure 2 and Figure 3.
While it's easy to get excited about Samsung potentially releasing a gaming handheld, we have to take this with a massive grain of salt. For one, it's only a patent, and we know that companies file patents for devices that never see the light of day.
Then, there's the whole concern about what the future holds for Samsung's current crop of foldable phones. Rumors suggest that Samsung sold less than 300,000 Galaxy Z Fold 6 devices in the first two weeks, falling far short of the Galaxy Z Fold 5.
In October, the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition was released in South Korea, reportedly selling through all three batches of pre-orders. While that might be the case, there's no way of knowing how many devices Samsung actually manufactured for release, especially since it was limited to certain regions.
On top of that, rumors continue to swirl around Samsung potentially releasing a tri-foldable competitor to the Mate XT. However, if sales are as bad as reports make it seem, it wouldn't come as a surprise if Samsung decided to cut its losses and drop foldable phones for good.
Let's hope that's not the case, and that this newly-discovered foldable gaming handheld actually comes to fruition. In the meantime, now's a great time to join the Galaxy Z Fold 6 bandwagon thanks to various Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Then, you can pair it with a gaming controller, load up some games, and make your own foldable Android handheld.
- Black Friday deals: Samsung | Google Pixel | Motorola | OnePlus
