Samsung patents suggest a transparent phone could be in development
- Samsung has filed patents for a transparent smartphone.
- The device in question would have a transparent display with opaque bezels.
If you think Samsung’s foldable phone ambitions are insane, then after patents appear, reconsider that a transparent smartphone might be in the works. The patents, filed in January but not surfaced until August, describe the intricate steps and technology required to create a transparent phone.
Every pixel on the phone’s display would let light through and effectively make the screen transparent. In Samsung’s patent drawings, this transparent screen resembles a window through which the holder’s hand is visible. Only the bezels seem opaque.
The patents were discovered by the Dutch tech blog LetsGoDigital This also provided a model of the device in question. We’re not sure how this could be useful for anyone other than chronic screen peekers in public transportation, but it would make a great marketing tool.
Dreams about transparent phones are not new. LG had a crack with the GD900 in 2009, but it only had a transparent keyboard. Sony Ericsson followed with the Xperia Pureness, which he believed had a transparent display. It wasn’t very good though.
Samsung has developed transparent OLED displays in the past, but these were mainly used for signage. In a smartphone where hardware space is limited, the technology gets a little more complicated.
The company would have to find a way to house the battery and other components so as not to interfere with the transparent display or to make these elements transparent in some way. This problem was demonstrated in 2013 by the transparent phone from the Taiwanese company Polytron Technologies. The SD card and ribbon cables were still visible despite the largely transparent casing of the phone.
These patents rarely become mainstream devices. So don’t expect Samsung to launch a transparent Galaxy S or Note series anytime soon. However, the quest for the next big smartphone innovation is leading companies to extreme, if not impractical, lengths.
Next: Samsung Galaxy S30 series – 8 things we want to see
