Could this be the Galaxy Note Fold? New patent stirs old wounds

Just as we thought we’d gotten over the fact that a new generation Galaxy Note wouldn’t be happening this year, a newly arisen design patent stoked old wounds. Check out what Samsung itself calls the “Galaxy Flex Note” – a foldable reinvention of the iconic series of smartphones.

The concept described below marks several deviations from the company’s current foldable designs. Most notably, while its physical footprint appears to be comparable to that of the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the device only features a single outward folding display. Assuming Samsung can pull it off, the change could be a game-changer, no pun intended. Namely, a single-screen foldable display would likely help keep key component costs down. Both in terms of display and camera hardware. With enough time for economies of scale to kick in, of course.

This is definitely a Galaxy Note, but will it ever materialize?

Another unique feature of the design has to do with its so-called S Pen slot, as the eject mechanism in traditional Galaxy Note designs makes way for a rear-mounted slot. One sits in the fold protected by the aforementioned foldable screen.

Samsung initially filed for registration for this design over a year ago, in April 2020. Six months later, the Korean company filed a nearly identical IP filing in China. Of course, it is not known whether all of this amounts to an actual commercial product. But there is hope, that’s all we can hang on to at this point.

In related news, as the fate of the Galaxy Note series remains in doubt, another member of the stylus-centric lineup just retired earlier this month.