Samsung isn’t any stranger to foldable display screen tech, with it being the primary firm to actually push the thought of foldable telephones with its Samsung Galaxy Fold and Samsung Galaxy Flip telephones. Nevertheless, now the corporate has taken the one logical subsequent step and demoed a brand new idea, exhibiting off a gaming handheld that may do the identical screen-bending trick to halve its footprint, making for an much more moveable gaming system.
Samsung doesn’t at present make a tool that might compete with the likes of the Steam Deck OLED and Asus ROG Ally X for a spot on our greatest handheld gaming PC information. Nevertheless, it has an extended pedigree in producing each moveable units akin to a few of the greatest foldable telephones, in addition to tablets, and it makes Home windows laptops too. A gaming handheld is just a small step away from a lot of its common {hardware} output.
The brand new Samsung Flex Gaming foldable gaming handheld idea is being proven off by the corporate on the upcoming Cell World Congress (MWC) commerce present in Barcelona, the place our cell gaming sister website PocketTactics noticed the system. Samsung offers no particulars in regards to the system however photos present the system sporting what seems to be a typical 7-inch dimension display screen as discovered on most different handhelds, however right here it buckles within the center, permitting the entire system to bend in half.
Notably, the system isn’t proven in a number of totally different bent states, so we will’t inform simply how skinny the system is when it’s folded, or how flat the display screen lies when opened up. Nevertheless, Samsung’s foldable telephones have proved spectacular on each fronts, so we see no motive why a gaming handheld couldn’t work simply as effectively.
Samsung has even considered how the system would possibly truly fold flat, whereas nonetheless sustaining protruding standard controls akin to thumbsticks. The idea has holes on the other aspect of every thumbstick that enable the sticks to poke by the system. The extension of this concept to have the D-pad buttons encompass the holes appears to be like ergonomically terrible, however a minimum of Samsung has clearly thought of this prevalence extra than simply slapping a hinge and a bendable display screen on a handheld-shaped plastic shell.
The opposite draw back to the design, although, is that once more with the intention to make it skinny – and thus a worthwhile endeavor to make it foldable – Samsung has seemingly omitted any hand grip bulges on the rear of the system. As an alternative, it seems to simply have a flat pill form, which we suspect wouldn’t be snug for lengthy gaming periods.
Nonetheless, if Samsung can steadiness all these components and give you a tool that basically does have half the traditional footprint of a gaming handheld, we will see it being interesting for people who truly use their handheld whereas touring.
Additionally demoed by Samsung at this present is a brand new 500Hz OLED gaming monitor, that we first heard about again in November 2024, however there’s no additional phrase but on when that panel is arriving.
Would you be serious about a foldable gaming handheld? Or is the likes of Lenovo Legion Go a much more smart strategy for tweaking the gaming handheld method? Be part of our neighborhood Discord and you may tell us your ideas. Plus, you’ll be able to observe us on Google Information for every day PC {hardware} information, evaluations, and guides.