Samsung has just recently submitted a device patent to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The device's main feature is its two independent yet interlocked screens. It was named "Galaxy" in the patent, but it is not confirmed that the phone will be next in the company's flagship S series.
The phone will not be the recently-rumored "wraparound" display. The wraparound design will supposedly have two separate frames sharing a continuous screen, with a flexible part placed above a hinge. But instead, this new device will have two separate screens, each capable of turning 360 degrees. The two parts open and close like a book.
The screens will also have the ability to tell the distance and angle when both are apart from each other — whether they are tightly closed or wide open. This is because of the sensors placed on the device's hinges.
According to the patent details, the new device is apparently desgined with mobile gaming in mind. However, it can also be utilized as one continuous "desktop," with two applications running on two different screens at once.
Samsung's patent said that video games can take advantage of the device's dual-screen design. They said that while one screen is showing the video output of the game, the other could be used for controls.
This is much like the game design for Nintendo DS, wherein the top screen displays the main game data. Meanwhile, the other screen's contents will depend on the context. Most of the time, the bottom screen displays gameplay elements that respond to touch, as well as commands made by gestures.
There was no release date for the upcoming "Galaxy" device. In any case, submission of a patent does not automatically mean that the new device is on its way to be launched. It just means that the ideas contained therein are plans that Samsung has considered for development.
