A Samsung executive recently teased that the upcoming Galaxy Note 4 would feature a new form factor. He revealed no other details but ZDNet Korea now suggests that the Galaxy Note 4 could be the first to incorporate a Youm flexible display that would wrap around the sides, effectively making it a three-sided display.
The basic idea behind three sided displays would be to use the narrow side displays to display various notifications or information in a ticker-tape fashion. Samsung showed off such a concept device back in 2013. The video below gives you a look (around the 1:40 mark) at how it could work:
One Apple iPhone concept we featured on Concept Sunday last December also featured such a side display. It went as far as suggesting that physical buttons could be replaced by such a display.
While a three-sided display design holds a lot of promise, a number of engineering and usability challenges will also have to be solved to make it useful. Among them is if and how the display would work when the device is held in your hand.
Samsung first announced its Youm brand of flexible OLED displays in April 2012. It did not use a Youm display for its first flexible display device, the Galaxy Round.
With the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 not expected until the fall, there is plenty of time for rumours between now and then to shed more light on what Samsung has in mind.
Sources : ZDNet Korea // G for Games