Here's more evidence Samsung is making a dual-screen, foldable phone

A couple of weeks ago we reported on a Samsung patent showing a phone with two screens, separated by a hinge, that you could fold over. Now a new patent has emerged showing a very similar-looking device – is this the long-rumored Galaxy X?

The patents were once more uncovered by LetsGoDigital, and depict a phone very much in the style of the ZTE Axon M, which you can see in the image above. Two linked screens are fixed with a hinge in the middle, so the phone can be closed over with either the two displays or the two back panels showing.

The new patent also shows this device being used in 'tent' mode, much like a 2-in-1 laptop. When the two screens are open side by side, they can be used separately or as one bigger screen, according to the diagrams in the patent.

In fact there are only a few slight cosmetic changes between this and the device design we saw revealed in a patent in December. One additional benefit to the design shown in the older document is that you can operate a video or photo app without obscuring the screen with your fingers.

As always with patents, there's no guarantee that a product like this is ever going to see the light of day – it's just an indication of what Samsung's trying to develop at the moment. It could be months or years before something actually gets released.

However, rumors have swirled for years about a Samsung Galaxy X, a foldable phone with either a bendable screen or two fixed screens separated by a hinge, as shown in these new diagrams. 2018 could finally be the year it makes it to market, even if we aren't going to get phones you can roll up for several years yet.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.