New renders give us another look at Samsung’s foldable smartphone, due out next year [Gallery]

It feels like we’ve been hearing about foldable smartphones for a while, especially from Samsung. There have been leaks and patents over the years, but today, a new patent application by Samsung has revealed new renders of the device which give us a clearer idea of what to expect in the “Samsung Galaxy X.”

These images (via SamMobile) reveal a rounded design on the back with a hinge in the center which also extends to either side of the device. By design, the display is considerably larger than usual, but at a different aspect ratio. Rather than the typical 16:9, this device has an aspect ratio which is considerably taller than wide.

Interestingly, Samsung stills opts for a physical home button and capacitive buttons on this device and along the bottom, we see the charging port, speaker, and headphone jack. The back of the phone also houses the camera and Samsung’s logo. When folded, the device doesn’t fold completely like previous drawings had depicted. Rather, it leaves a gap reminiscent of Microsoft’s Surface Book laptop. The hinge on this device also uses a similar design to the Surface Book’s hinge.

As for a release date, Samsung is still apparently aiming for a 2017 launch, at least according to a report from Korean outlet The Investor. Along with Samsung, LG is also expected to release a foldable smartphone in 2017. An analyst stated:

The year 2017 will be the first year of foldable smartphones for the mass market. From the latter half of next year, Korean display makers like Samsung Display and LG Display will start producing the sixth-generation flexible organic light-emitting diode panels.