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Samsung shows us the future of smartphone form factors including one panel expected on a 2026 phone

By Alan Friedman

Published: Jan 12, 2025, 7:11 PM

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Samsung brought some cool things to CES this year including a pair of tri-foldable displays. Huawei became the first phone manufacturer to release a tri-fold unit last year releasing the Mate XT. Shortly afterward, the rumor mill turned to Samsung looking at it as the next smartphone manufacturer most likely to take on such a form factor. Sure enough, at CES 2025 Samsung brought along two different tri-fold looks. One resembles the form factor of the Mate XT and is known as the "Flex S."

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The Flex S shows a portion of the screen when it is closed. According to a tweet posted by highly reliable Ross Young, the founder and CEO of Display Supply Side Consultants (DSCC), Samsung will introduce a tri-fold handset next year that will use Samsung's second tri-fold form factor known as the "Flex G." The best way to describe this panel is to consider it a Galaxy Z Fold with an extra side. Unlike the Flex S, the Flex G's two outer sides fold inward providing protection for the internal 10-inch tablet-sized screen when the device is closed. A phone based on the Flex G display isn't expected to be released by Samsung until 2026 since shipments of these panels won't start until the fourth quarter of this year.

Samsung's Flex G tri-fold display could be employed on a released phone next year. | Image credit-CNET

Samsung is also working on an expandable display that stretches out vertically, and on another expandable that expands horizontally. The former is great for smartphones while the latter is perfect for tablets. This is a technology that Samsung has been working on for years and it might be close to seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

A YouTube video released by Samsung Display shows the screen expanding vertically from a 5.1-inch display to a 6.7-inch display carrying an FHD+ resolution. Another video shows the expanding horizontal display growing from an 8.1-inch screen to a 12.4-inch screen also sporting an FHD+ resolution.

Samsung also showed off technology that allows a smartphone display to look bright while viewing the screen, even if you're wearing sunglasses. How about a screen that moves toward you to mimic the look of a 3D display? Samsung brought such a concept panel with it to Vegas this year. At CES, Samsung also displayed a flexible and extremely thin OLED display that eventually could be used on a mobile product.

With CES being held in Las Vegas as usual, we'd like to see Samsung roll the dice with one of these concept displays. The "Flex G" tri-fold seems likely to hit the marketplace in 2026 and if we had to take a guess, we'd say that it could be followed up with a Galaxy smartphone that has a vertically expanding screen.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.