What’s higher than a pill that may fold in half to grow to be your cellphone? Based on Samsung, it is a foldable the display of which may additionally slide out to provide you much more visible actual property. However a number of sensible limitations imply the Flex Hybrid idea, which Samsung is displaying off at CES 2023, will stay nearer to the whiteboard than our pockets for some time but.

The Flex Hybrid could be very a lot a prototype ‘good cellular system’. It is the primary one we have seen that mixes two varieties of modern display tech – the foldable shows that we already know (and largely love) in telephones such because the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, and newer ‘slidable’ screens that Samsung has been flaunting at numerous commerce exhibits for the previous 12 months.

The thought is that you will unfold the left-hand facet of the Flex Hybrid, very similar to the present Fold sequence. However in order for you a good bigger display, you can stretch it from a 10.5-inch 4:Three show to a 12.4-inch display with 16:10 ratio by pulling out the remainder of the show from the right-hand facet, to provide you a correct pill expertise from a pocketable system.

In concept, the Flex Hybrid is the type of do-everything cellular system that we may solely dream of some years in the past. However there’s good motive to consider that we’ll must proceed dreaming about it for just a few years but.

Firstly, the thought is clearly nonetheless on the early idea stage, as Samsung hasn’t revealed any specs for the show, or hinted at which merchandise may probably use the tech. Additionally, this time final 12 months, at CES 2022, Samsung demoed its Flex G and S shows, which may fold twice in two completely different instructions, however which have but to be totally realized as consumer-ready merchandise.

Fold that thought

The most probably state of affairs is that Samsung might want to polish its respective show applied sciences earlier than they are often mixed in a single do-it-all pill. On the slidables entrance, Samsung will probably be demoing two bigger 17-inch prototypes with sliding screens for laptops CES 2023. 

These will probably be referred to as the Flex Slidable Solo, the display on which will be expanded in a single route, and the Flex Slidable Duet (pictured above), which will be stretched in each instructions to create a 17.3-inch show (from a 13-14-inch system) for gaming or watching films.

Folding shows nonetheless a whole lot of refinement, although. Whereas we’re huge followers of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, its crease continues to be seen down the center of the display – and run your finger throughout the show and you will really feel the crease, too. It is not vastly noticeable if you’re watching movies, however that is nonetheless an space for enchancment earlier than Samsung strikes onto sliding foldables.

The opposite hurdle is that foldables stay premium merchandise that, within the present monetary local weather, are laborious for many tech followers to justify. The beginning worth of the Galaxy Z Fold 4, for instance, is $1,799 / £1,649 / AU$2,499. Including a slidable part to that show – nevertheless thrilling that may be – will solely make that price ticket much more prohibitive.

Issue within the query marks across the long-term sturdiness of foldables, and the present limitations of Android pill apps, and you may see that it will positively be just a few years earlier than a Flex Hybrid turns into a viable product. However we’ll actually be first within the queue to attempt one out – and we’ll be doing our greatest to hunt one down at CES 2023, if it certainly exists.

• Try all of TechRadar’s CES 2023 protection. We’re bringing you all of the breaking tech information and launches, on all the pieces from 8K TVs and foldable shows to new telephones, laptops and good house devices.