A Symbol of Galaxy Note Series
While Samsung Electronics is expanding customer experience with the S Pen, a differentiated feature of the Galaxy Note series, some experts predicted that the S Pen will also be installed in rollable phones and slide phones.
MySmartPrice, an Indian information technology (IT) media outlet, said on Feb. 5 that Samsung Electronics recently filed a patent application on a device loaded with a rollable or slide display with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Particularly noteworthy about this patent application is that the S Pen can be embedded in the device’s rollable/slide display. The patent documents show a separate storage space for an S Pen cutout on the back of the device.
While the S Pen of the Galaxy Note series is stored in a hole at the bottom of the device, the S Pen of the rollable/slide phone will be placed on the back of the device.
Samsung Electronics is increasing the number of devices compatible with the S Pen. The Korean smartphone giant introduced the Galaxy S21 Ultra as the first smartphone among the Galaxy S series to support the S Pen in early 2021. The Galaxy Z Fold 3, released in the second half of the year, also supported the S Pen for the first time among foldable smartphones.
Samsung Electronics is expected to introduce the S Pen as part of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the top model of the Galaxy S22 series to be launched in February. While users of the Galaxy S21 Ultra or Galaxy Z Fold 3 had to carry the S Pen separately, some experts expect that the Galaxy S22 Ultra will accommodate the S Pen like the Galaxy Note series. This actually implies the integration of the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S series, and the number of Galaxy phones that store the S Pen is expected to rise further in the future.
Meanwhile, the patent documents for the rollable/slide phone show the motor for sliding in and out the display located on the left edge. When the display of the device is pushed to the right, a rolled display will unfold, many experts believe.
This is not the first time Samsung Electronics has applied for a patent on a rollable/slide phone. It has applied for a series of patents on rollable phone technology in recent years. It also applied for trademarks that are believed to be used for rollable phones such as the Galaxy Z Roll and the Galaxy Z Slide.
Some analysts say that Samsung Electronics’ rollable phone launch is imminent. Samsung Display, a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, introduced a variety of flexible display prototypes, including rollable displays and double-foldable displays, at CES 2022 in early January.