Samsung Has Patented a Touch-Screen Device You Can Fold in Half Like a Flip Phone

Staying on the cutting edge sometimes requires taking a step back in order to move forward. At least, that's the idea behind Samsung potentially bringing back a version of the flip phone (remember those?) with some modern upgrades. 

The Seoul, South Korea-based company has patented a smartphone with a super flexible touchscreen that looks flat and seamless but would be able to fold in half, either inward or outward, much like the two flaps of a wallet. Just imagine folding your iPhone in half.

According to images filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this month and first obtained by Business Insider, the phone could look a lot like the ubiquitous clamshell phones of the early 2000s.

It's unclear whether Samsung will actually pursue this foldable design or whether it would ever release similar flip phones in the U.S. However, the company has experimented in recent years with innovative phone designs, including its curved Galaxy phone and its somewhat bendable Galaxy Note Edge. 

But in the flip realm, a version of Samsung's flip phone is slated to go on sale in Korea sometime in August. Called the Galaxy Folder, the smartphone will have all the modern functionality we've come to expect from our smartphones, but look a lot like the phones gathering dust in our dresser drawers. 

"The folding-style design combined with smartphone features, including the Internet, messenger and social networking services, will add to the device's convenience," Samsung said in a statement, according to Reviewed.com.

Samsung has been struggling lately amid falling profits and a shrinking share of the market, according to CNBC. The tech company announced this week it plans to cut prices on its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge in an effort to boost sales. "Samsung remained the leader in the worldwide smartphone market but was the only company among the top five to see its shipment volume decline year over year," International Data Corporation, a market research company, noted in its latest Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, CNBC reported.