Forget foldables — Samsung's first scrollable phone could launch this year

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Samsung could launch a new type of foldable this year with a scrolling, flexible screen

Samsung Galaxy Scroll concept image
(Image credit: Techconfigurations)

Samsung might have an entirely new foldable to show off later this year. And we're not just talking about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 or Galaxy Z Flip 4, but also a completely fresh design that may use a scrolling display.

The presence of a third model may have been figured out from codenames reportedly revealed to GalaxyClub. Those three codenames are B4, Q4 and N4. 

B4 is believed to be the Galaxy Z Flip 4, since the Galaxy Z Flip 3 was codenamed Bloom. Q4 would make for a natural follow-on from the Galaxy Z Fold 3's Q3 alias. But what could N4 be? The theory is that it could be a new, third type of foldable from Samsung. 

GalaxyClub writes that this new foldable will likely be launched on a smaller scale than the new Galaxy Z Fold and Flip models. This would be a logical choice for a first-gen device, particularly a complex folding one. Remember how messy the launch of the original Galaxy Fold was?

Twitter leaker IceUniverse may have offered an answer as to what the rumored new foldable could look like. They claim that this third foldable, which they refer to as "Diamond," is coming in the second half of the year, and is quite likely a scroll-screen phone. That's a phone that can expand sideways in your hand.

This type of folding phone has apparently been under development by Samsung and other brands for some time, but if it's genuinely production-ready as GalaxyClub and IU suggest, we're surprised and impressed. We just hope it looks like the unofficial Galaxy Scroll concepts we've seen render artists make, which give the device the added versatility of triple cameras and an S Pen stylus.

We will probably see the new Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip arrive in late summer, if Samsung keeps to the same release schedule as previous years. It would make sense for a new foldable phone to debut alongside these two, but given this would be a completely new type of phone, Samsung may want to keep it separate.

Either way, we'll be keeping a close eye on this one as it has the potential to be every bit as exciting as other rumored new phones such as the iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7. 

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Richard Priday
Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.