Samsung shows gaming handheld that can be folded up

Is the foldable Steam Deck coming? Cell phone manufacturers have already proven that OLED screens can be folded to save space. Samsung can also imagine this concept for gaming handhelds. However, a design study exhibited at the MWC in Barcelona shows that there are fundamental problems with this.

The fundamental issue: gaming handhelds not only consist of a display and a housing, but also inevitably need controller elements that can hardly be held flat. The Samsung prototype aims to solve this problem with cut-outs at both ends of the handheld, in which the asymmetrically arranged sticks are supposed to sink when folded.

This allows the sticks to protrude slightly from the housing when unfolded, without preventing folding. Samsung has placed additional input elements – in a circle around the recesses, with the D-pad on the left and the face buttons on the right. Samsung has also placed shoulder buttons on the upper side.

Not yet possible to try out

Samsung's folding experiment was not allowed to be touched at the MWC. It is therefore unclear how well the handheld can really be folded. The haptics of the buttons and sticks could not be tested either – but it is suspected that the unusual form factor requires compromises in handling.

The fact that two thumb-sized holes take some getting used to cannot be denied. Performance could also be a challenge: Gaming handhelds need solid hardware and large batteries so that they don't run out of steam after a few minutes. A video of the mobile game “Dark and Darker Mobile” was shown on the screen at the MWC.

Samsung has not announced any plans to actually launch a foldable gaming handheld. The possibility of a foldable handheld could still be interesting in the future – even if some compromises might be necessary.

(dahe)