The word on the street is that Samsung is working on a handheld gaming console that will see them go up against the Nintendo Switch and Lenovo’s hand held console.
A recently discovered patent indicates that Samsung console could include the folding screen utilized in its Galaxy Fold and Flip phones.
Initially spotted by 91mobiles, Samsung Display filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Organisation for an “ornamental design for electronic games console.”
The patent includes multiple technical drawings of the device’s design, which resemble a Nintendo Switch.
However, a key differentiation is that the device folds in half. When closed, it looks similar to a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip, and it’s not as tall as the Galaxy Z Fold.
This patent was initially filed back in 2022, so the design could have been drastically reworked, or even scrapped by this point.
Separately, a recent report in Android Police collated four several rumours that also indicate Samsung is developing a foldable handheld console.
Among them is a post on X by Jukanlosreve, who hinted that Samsung is “developing a Vulkan driver for Linux for Xclipse, and Valve is preparing ARM support for SteamOS.”
Samsung could be developing this new Vulkan-on-Exynos driver as a feature for potential customers of its chipmaking arm.
Samsung’s push into the console space comes as Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa confirmed that the Switch 2 will be announced during the company’s current fiscal year (April 1, 2024-March 31, 2025).
Sony is also reported to be in the early stages of developing a portable console that would allow users to play its PlayStation 5 games on the move.
