Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 concept has a bezel-less folding screen and the S21’s camera module

Posted on 22/04/2021 by Sarang Sheth

Why is it called the Z Flip 3? Where’s the Z Flip 2? Irrelevant questions!

Not sure if it’s the design of the phone or the render quality, but 3D artist Giuseppe Spinelli really seems to have outdone himself with this concept phone. Spinelli’s rendition of the Galaxy Z Flip 3 sports the best parts of all of Samsung’s past phones. On the inside, it has even thinner bezels than its 2020 counterpart, a hole-punch camera for good measure, and that gorgeous vertical folding screen. Flip the phone over and it’s reminiscent of the Moto Razr, with a pretty neat secondary display, and a camera module with three lenses (a first for vertical folding phones).

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 comes as a collaboration between Spinelli (also known by his internet alias Snoreyn) and LetsGoDigital. Rumor is, it’ll be accompanied by the Z Fold 3 as well, allowing Samsung to finally become a veteran in the folding phone space. LGD reports that the Z Flip 3 will feature an improved hinge and even points out that Samsung was awarded a patent for a Z Flip with triple cameras back in 2020.

The phone’s clamshell folding design makes it incredibly compact when folded, allowing it to occupy much less space in your pocket as compared to a Z Fold-style book-shaped folding design. Samsung’s also rumored to be working on a pamphlet-style smartphone with a triple-panel double-hinge setup, but there’s really no word of when the company will officially announce it.

The thickness can often be a deterring factor for consumers. Aside from the visible crease seen in most folding smartphone screens, the thickness becomes a bone of contention between manufacturers and consumers. However, Samsung recently even registered a trademark for the term ‘Armor Frame’, implying a slimmer yet more durable outer body. This would effectively make newer devices slimmer than their older counterparts, hopefully ‘slimming’ the gap between regular smartphones and foldables.

Some of the most interesting features of the Z Flip 3 include its small secondary screen, which actually works as more than just a notification center. Just like the Galaxy Z Fold 2, the larger secondary screen is touch-sensitive, and can be used when the phone is shut. You could potentially watch videos, navigate music apps, browse through notifications, and even use the screen as a viewfinder while clicking images with that stellar 3-camera setup. Another thing that makes the Z Flip 3 interesting is its format, which allows you to use it in an L-shaped mini-laptop mode. The vertically elongated screen may be great for browsing content or scrolling, but when split in half, provides ample real estate for media on the top, and a keyboard at the bottom. It would make sense for the Z Flip 3 to continue exploiting this feature. Moreover, the Z Flip 3 could even feature virtual buttons, as suggested by Spinelli and LGD. This essentially boosts functionality and makes it easier to control volume without constantly having to reach the upper left corner of the phone. Samsung is slated to debut the Z Flip 3 at its Galaxy Unpacked event in the summer of 2021, with as many as 8 different colors to choose from.

Designer: Giuseppe Spinelli for LetsGoDigital

LetsGoDigital gives us a look at Samsung’s Galaxy lineup for January 2021

Posted on 16/12/2020 by Sarang Sheth

Based on some credible rumors and leaks, the talented Giuseppe Spinelli (also known as Snoreyn) has teamed up with LetsGoDigital to visualize the next in Samsung’s Galaxy series. Slated for a January 2021 debut, the Galaxy S21 Ultra will allegedly come with 4 main-camera lenses, a hole-punch camera on the front, and with the option to be paired up with Samsung’s S-Pen, a standard in the Note series.

The phone is rumored to come with a sprawling 6.8-inch QHD + rounded OLED screen traveling edge to edge with virtually no bezels. The hole-punch camera is perhaps the only physical element of the phone that breaks into the screen’s design, but companies are working on under-display cameras, so here’s hoping that later Galaxy models sport this tech. The rear of the S21 Ultra features a unique camera bump that integrates into the top left corner of the phone. The 4-lens camera includes a 108-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 10x zoom, and finally a 10-megapixel telephoto camera with 3x zoom, along with a laser autofocus sensor and a flash. An alleged 5000mAh battery will provide 12 hours of use, giving you a day’s worth of phone time. According to credible leaks, Samsung plans to ship the phone without a charging brick or earplugs, a decision Apple took in November with its iPhone. The accessories, however, will be available at a reduced rate to buyers, in an effort to only supply hardware to those who opt for it, helping cut down on e-waste. Additionally, power-users can even buy the S-Pen as an addon with their S21 Ultra, helping uplift its abilities by giving it a variety of features from taking notes, marking up photos/slides, and even using the S-Pen as a trigger to click images and record videos!

The phone’s been visualized in the classic black and silver variants, with the addition of two new colors – Phantom Brown and Phantom Blue. Although Samsung has yet to send the official press invitations, it’s speculated that the new Galaxy S21 line-up will be announced on January 14, 2021.

Designer: Giuseppe Spinelli for LetsGoDigital

This Samsung concept shows us what a smartphone with a 100% screen-to-body ratio would look like

Posted on 15/11/2020 by Sarang Sheth

In the pursuit of a phone that’s 100% display, this Samsung concept (designed using a patent uncovered by LetsGoDigital) makes some pretty wild design decisions that result in a phone that’s definitely interesting to look at. Meet the Samsung Galaxy Infinite Concept (at least that’s what I want to call it…), a phone with two wraparound displays that cover the front and back halves of the phone. I say halves because the phone has a minimal parting line running through it, because the Galaxy Infinite is, in fact, a slider phone!

The sliding mechanism makes up for the fact that with a 100% screen-to-body ratio (on both the front AND the back), there’s really no space for cameras… so the Galaxy Infinite concept builds the cameras into the concealed surfaces that reveal themselves when the two halves slide apart. The phone comes with a single set of cameras that serve as both front and rear-facing shooters (because with a 100% display, the phone doesn’t really have a front or back). Slide the cameras out and you can either click rear-facing shots using the opposite screen as a viewfinder, or use the same-side screen for viewing your selfies as you click them.

The 100% screen-to-body ratio results in a few obvious trade-offs. Sure, there’s no notch, or no hole-punch camera… but there’s also no volume or power button on the Galaxy Infinite, given that the screens cover the side edges of the phone too. The upper and lower edges seem to be spared, however, for critical components like earpieces, microphones, charging ports, and possibly a SIM tray. I assume the lack of buttons is replaced by a haptic-touch system found in phones like the Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha, which lets you tap to have a volume widget show up on the side of the screen.

So why would Samsung patent a smartphone with wraparound screens on the front and the back? Well, the answer is simply, because it’s possible. Xiaomi launched the Mi Mix Alpha for practically the same reason… as a flex, to show what they’re capable of producing. Similar to concept vehicles displayed by automotive companies at motor shows, I doubt these phones will really ever hit the shelves for consumers to buy (whether there’s actually demand for these phones is a completely different question). However, they’re a great indication of innovation, and also help companies really explore new avenues, while bringing the cost of expensive technologies down in the long run. I guess we can all agree that THAT’s definitely a good thing.

“The brand new patent entitled ‘Electronic device’ was applied for by Samsung Electronics at the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) in July this year and was published on October 29, 2020 and included in the database of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office)”, reports LetsGoDigital.

Designer: Giuseppe Spinelli (Snoreyn) for LetsGoDigital