Samsung Electronics appears to be preparing to equip some of its upcoming Galaxy smartphones, including the Galaxy S11 series, with rollable displays and rotating cameras, according to news reports Tuesday.

The South Korean tech giant filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Office in April for its combination of a rollable display and a rotating camera module, showed a patent document uncovered by Lets Go Digital based in the Netherlands.

The document showed an image of a device with a front screen that had a narrow metal frame for a rollable display to slide through.

When the user slides the screen downward, stated the image description, the rear of the device stretches to make the front screen larger. 


The patent also mentioned a dual camera with a rotating mechanism, similar to the one featured on the Galaxy A80 phone launched earlier this year for limited markets such as Thailand and India.

Samsung has been testing rotating cameras in which the lens rotates from the rear screen to the front screen when the user chooses selfie mode, having first used them in its Galaxy A series. It now appears to be combining the technology with its flexible display technology, according to the reports.

“If the display is rolled out, the camera automatically rotates,” said the Lets Go Digital report. “In addition, the camera is placed under the flexible display.”

Smartphone vendors are showing growing interest in the rotating camera technology as they consider adopting flexible displays for smartphone screens, according to industry officials.

LG Electronics is also reportedly preparing to equip its next flagship model, possibly the LG V60 ThinQ, with a camera module in the rear that rotates and pops up in the front.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)