– Samsung is exploring a sliding/rollable phone concept where the display extends and the rear cameras move with the sliding portion to keep the camera module slim.
– The patent sketches suggest cameras could be placed on the sliding edge rather than atop the rollable display, potentially reducing the device’s overall thickness.
– There’s uncertainty about the product’s viability or readiness, with mentions of prototypes and ongoing interest but no confirmation of a public release.
We’ve heard about rollable or sliding phones from Samsung before, and it’s hard to pin down exactly what stage of development this is in. It could be just an idea for now, and Samsung might never release it to the public. Still, a newly discovered patent hints at what the phone could look like, and it appears to be doing something interesting and unique with the cameras.
Patent hints at a camera shift
The discovery by Wearview and xleaks7 shows a patent dated May 5, 2026, originally filed on June 2, 2023. It depicts a sliding phone that extends to the left, yet the notable point is that the rear cameras move along with the sliding display. In this design, Samsung seems to want to place the cameras on the sliding portion of the phone, potentially for a slimmer overall profile. The patent portrays a conventional bar phone silhouette from the back but includes a cutout for two cameras.
Why this could slim the device
Implementing the cameras on the sliding part would let the phone be thinner since camera modules wouldn’t need to sit atop the rollable display. Instead, they’d be positioned on the side, with a possible cutout. With sliding or extending displays, the screen rolls and unrolls within the phone’s body, but there’s another approach to this idea—the unreleased LG Rollable. That model had vertically oriented cameras along the edge of the stationary side and the screen extended to the back, coming to the front as the phone slid open.
What the patent reveals and concept visuals
That’s about all the information available in Samsung’s patent. Based on the filing, xleaks7 supplied concept images to illustrate how the actual phone might look in real life. This isn’t the first patent for a sliding or rolling display smartphone from the Korean giant. Last year in April, another patent surfaced showing a smaller Galaxy Z Flip-like device that wouldn’t flip open but would slide open. More recently, a credible leaker claimed that Samsung is prototyping a sliding phone. Whether these designs will ever become real phones remains to be seen, but Samsung clearly has interest in this concept.
- Wearview and xleaks7 discussion on X
- USPTO patent documentation references
- Historical context with LG Rollable as a comparison
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