Samsung is dreaming up a phone with a wraparound display after the Galaxy Fold disaster - and it could be perfect for translation

WIPO

Samsung's new "multi-face" display.

• Samsung has secured patent approval for a new kind of wraparound phone display, as first spotted by Lets Go Digital.
• The display would continuously encompass the phone's front and rear, as well as its top edge.
• This comes after Samsung's upcoming folding phone the Galaxy Fold was delayed due to review units breaking after just two days of use.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

In the middle of the furore about its folding phone, Samsung has quietly gained patent approval for a whole new kind of display.

The patent filing, first spotted by Dutch website Lets Go Digital, is for what Samsung describes as a "multi-face display." According to the filing, Samsung submitted the patent in 2016, but Lets Go reports that it was approved and published by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office) on April 25.

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The continuous display encircles the front, back, and even it seems the top edge of the phone. One diagram shows messages being displayed along the top edge.

WIPO

A diagram showing the phone displaying a message along its top-edge display.

The patent contains two examples of how this wraparound display could be helpful. The first is in taking pictures, as the subject of the photo would be able to see the viewfinder mirrored on the rear display, or take a selfie using the more high quality rear camera.

Read more: There were major red flags that Samsung's $1,980 Galaxy Fold foldable smartphone wouldn't be ready in time

Another suggested usage is for translation. Samsung's patent shows a design where someone speaks into a device's microphone, and their words are translated and displayed on the back.

WIPO

A diagram showing how the continuous display could help with translation.

Some phones already have rear-screen displays, such as the Vivo NEX Dual Display. However, the Vivo is far from mainstream and, as Engadget points out, the front and rear screens are not continuous.

Samsung was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Business Insider.

The patent approval comes in the same month that Samsung's reputation has taken a battering over its upcoming folding phone, the Galaxy Fold. The Fold was hotly anticipated, but Samsung had to delay its release date after four review units broke after just two days of use.

"While many reviewers shared with us the vast potential they see, some also showed us how the device needs further improvements that could ensure the best possible user experience," Samsung said in a statement at the time.