Rollable Samsung Smartphone: Patent Reveals Clever Camera Design for a Slimmer Body
A newly surfaced Samsung patent reveals a rollable slider smartphone in which the rear cameras travel together with the extendable display – a design choice that could enable a noticeably thinner device body. The application was originally filed on June 2, 2023 and published on May 5, 2026; it was first spotted by leakers Wearview and xleaks7.
What the Patent Shows
The patent drawings depict a smartphone whose display slides out laterally to the left, much like a classic slider phone. The key innovation: instead of being mounted on the fixed body section as in current smartphones, the rear camera modules sit on the flexible, extendable display segment and move along with it as the screen rolls out. On the rear side, a recess accommodates two cameras, so that the device initially looks like a conventional candy-bar smartphone when retracted.
Why This Design Is Engineered Smartly
In rollable smartphones, the tight internal space is the biggest mechanical challenge: the wound-up display, the motorized mechanism and the electronics all have to fit inside a body that should remain as slim as possible. By relocating the camera modules onto the extendable section, Samsung eliminates the bulky camera bump that would otherwise sit above the roll mechanism, allowing for an overall thinner profile. By comparison, on the never-launched LG Rollable the cameras were arranged vertically along the edge of the fixed body part, while the screen wrapped around to the back and was pulled forward when the device was extended.
The Relevant Patent Document
From an IP perspective, the Samsung property right most closely associated with this reporting is US 2024/0114220 A1 (“Electronic device including structure for supporting camera module”), filed at the USPTO on June 26, 2023 and granted on July 1, 2025 as US 12,348,844 B2. Inventors are Lee Jungho, Oh Seungwon and Park Jungsik; the applicant is Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Independent claim 1 protects an electronic device comprising a housing, a first and a second camera module (each with its own printed circuit board), a camera housing with a “first barrier” wall between the modules, and a receiving area extending perpendicular to a supporting plate that encloses both camera modules. This is complemented by a supporting plate coupled to the camera housing – a structure that ensures mechanical stability even when the display/camera unit is movable.
Positioning Within Samsung’s Patent Strategy
This is by no means Samsung’s first IP right in the slider/rollable space: as early as April 2025, a patent surfaced for a smaller slider device in the Galaxy Z Flip style, and credible leakers report on an actual slider prototype already in testing. In parallel, Samsung holds further closely related rights such as US 2023/0388401 A1 for a rollable display in a cylindrical housing and US 12,026,017 B2 covering audio correction during roll/slide movements of flexible displays. The portfolio reveals a systematic, coordinated patent strategy covering mechanics, antenna routing, acoustics and now camera integration – a textbook “patent thicket” designed to lock down future form factors.
Implications for the Market and Competition
Whether Samsung will actually bring a rollable smartphone to market remains open – patents only document what is being worked on internally, not commercial intent. However, in light of competitors such as the discontinued LG Rollable and Huawei’s Mate X series, Samsung’s early and broadly drafted filings provide substantial leverage in negotiations and clear freedom-to-operate advantages. For IP practitioners, the case is a textbook example of how granular functional solutions (here: cameras that travel with the display) are deliberately patented in the smartphone industry to differentiate offerings long before any concrete product exists.
