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Samsung patents foldable phone that changes screen layout for connected devices

This filing describes a three-panel foldable device that detects when its middle section is fully unfolded. It then checks for connected external devices and adjusts the screen layout across all three panels based on the type of device attached.

Why it mattersIt suggests future foldables might automatically switch between tablet-like or laptop-like modes depending on whether a keyboard or mouse is connected.

In the filing’s own words

An example electronic device includes a housing including a first housing, a second housing, and a third housing; a hinge part including a first hinge part and a second hinge part; a display including a first area arranged in the first housing, a second area arranged in the second housing, and a third area arranged in the third housing; at least one sensor; a communication module; a processor; and a memory, wherein the memory may store instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to: detect, through the at least one sensor, whether a state of the electronic device is changed from a first state or a second state to a third state in which the second housing is expanded by a predetermined angle or more with respect to the first housing and the third housing centering on the hinge part; identify, through the communication module, whether an external electronic device has established communication with or is capable of establishing communication with the electronic device when it is detected that the state of the electronic device is changed to the third state; identify the type of an external electronic device based on identifying that an external electronic device that has established communication with or is capable of establishing communication with the electronic device; and display, through the first area, the second area, and the third area of the display, a screen corresponding to a first mode or a screen corresponding to a second mode different from the first mode, based on the type of the external electronic device.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic device, comprising: a housing including a first housing, a second housing, and a third housing; a hinge unit comprising a first hinge configured to rotate the first housing and the second housing and a second hinge configured to rotate the second housing and the third housing; a display including a first area disposed on the first housing, a second area disposed on the second housing, and a third area disposed on the third housing; at least one sensor; a communication module including communication circuitry; at least one processor including processing circuitry; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to: detect a change of a state of the electronic device from a first state or a second state to a third state in which the second housing is unfolded about the hinge unit at a designated angle or more from the first housing and the third housing, through the at least one sensor; based on detecting the change of the state of the electronic device to the third state, identify whether an external input device communicatively connected to the electronic device through the communication module exists; based on identifying that the external input device communicatively connected to the electronic device exists, identify a type of the external input device; and based on the type of the external input device being a first type, display a screen corresponding to a first mode through the first area, the second area, and the third area of the display; and based on the type of the external input device being a second type different from the first type, display a screen corresponding to a second mode different from the first mode, through the first area, the second area, and the third area of the display.

Facts

Company
Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
Official title
METHOD FOR PROVIDING SCREEN BY USING FLEXIBLE DISPLAY, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE SUPPORTING SAME
Publication number
US20260281231A1
Application number
19680306
Filed
May 18, 2026
Published
Sep 17, 2026
Inventors
5
Claims
20

Classified under

H04M 1/72454 Electricity & electronicsH04M 1/0216 Electricity & electronicsH04M 1/0268 Electricity & electronicsH04M 1/72409 Electricity & electronicsH04M 2201/38 Electricity & electronicsH04M 2201/42 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.