Can’t decide if sliding or folding a display is better? Samsung makes both options possible with the Flex Hybrid OLED display.

Samsung has so far been successful in its push to make foldable displays mainstream with products like the Galaxy Z Fold and Flip series—of which other brands have followed through. Other brands also explored other ways of making a display flexible through sliding and rolling it, and Samsung thought of combining BOTH folding and sliding on a display—which is the principle of its Flex Hybrid OLED.

This complex display design enhances what the Galaxy Z Fold does best by adding a sliding mechanism to give a bigger screen estate for the user. With the one that Samsung showcased at CES 2023, the Flex Hybrid OLED is a 10.5-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio when unfolded, and transforms into a 12.4-inch panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio when the right part of the panel slides out.

While it is still a proof of concept for now—we don’t know how Samsung addressed durability concerns (remember the fiasco with the first Galaxy Fold?) nor did it give details on how the mechanism is designed—what makes the Flex Hybrid OLED very interesting is the thought of being able to have a laptop-sized display that you can easily place in your pocket like a smartphone. This could mean a new way of making tablets interesting outside of being boring slabs—and being able to properly transform according to how you plan to use the device.

As for the other flexible display that Samsung showcased, the Slidable Flex Duet has both sides being pullable in order to expand a 14-inch OLED panel into a 17.3-inch one. This concept is more applicable to laptops, where a user can go for a compact one when working in tight spaces and expand the display seamlessly when the desk space allows for it.

Again, both ideas are still a proof of concept for now, and it may take years before Samsung turns them into an actual consumer product.