Samsung · Display · Filed Feb 11, 2026 · USPTO published Nov 12, 2026 · This week's release

Samsung Files Patent for a Folding Screen That Shows Notifications in a Mirror

Samsung describes a screen that folds twice into a G shape, hiding itself completely, then uses a mirror on the outer fold so you can still read the time and messages.

By Patentlyze Team · Updated Nov 12, 2026 · 3 min read

A folded phone bounces screen light off a built-in mirror strip to display text messages along its outer edge. Drawing from patent filing US 2026/0358861 A1. — A folded phone bounces screen light off a built-in mirror strip to display text messages along its outer edge.All 31 drawings ↓

Publication number: US 2026/0358861 A1(US20260358861A1)
Applicant: Samsung Display Co., LTD.
Filed · Published: Feb 11, 2026 · Nov 12, 2026
Inventors: Se Ja Chul HWANG
Status when we published: Waiting for an examiner
Document: 20 claims
US classification: 257/88

What Samsung's mirror-on-the-fold patent does

Ever wanted to check the time on a folded phone without opening it? One answer is a second, small screen on the outside. This Samsung patent describes a different route: it hides the screen completely and uses a mirror to show you what you need.

The device has a single display split into three panels that fold in on each other into a G-shaped stack, so the screen ends up tucked inside. A strip along one edge of the display stays lit. It faces a mirror on the outer fold, and you read the strip's reflection: the time, a message, or an email.

To save power, that strip refreshes at one hertz or less, meaning it redraws itself about once a second or slower. The filing also describes flat and curved mirrors, and says the angle of the fold changes where you can see the reflection from.

From the filing · CLAIM 1

… a reflective member disposed on a surface of the second folding cover portion of the cover structure which is opposite to a surface of the second folding cover portion facing the display panel …

Translation: A mirror is attached to the back of one of the folding hinges.

How the folded screen bounces alerts to a mirror

The device has a cover structure (the protective frame under the screen) made of three rigid sections joined by two bendable sections. The display panel sits on top, with matching rigid and bendable zones. Folding the two bendable parts inward stacks the three sections and leaves the screen facing itself, hidden from view.

A reflective member (a mirror, a reflective film, or a metal coating such as chromium or aluminum) sits on the outer face of the second bendable section. When folded, that section is angled, from 20 to 70 degrees in the flat version, so the mirror catches the lit edge strip of the display and sends the image out to the viewer.

The filing describes several variations:

A hinge version, where hinges inside the frame join the panels and the mirror sits on the outer face of one hinge, exposed only when folded.
A curved mirror, which distorts the image, so the strip shows small colored dots or an image pre-adjusted to look right.
Smaller angles, which aim the reflection in a different direction.
A simpler two-panel version with a single fold.

The claims also cover an electronic device where a processor sends image data to this kind of display.

From the filing · THE ABSTRACT

… a cover structure including first to third non-folding cover portions arranged in a first direction, a first folding cover portion disposed between the first and second non-folding cover portions, and a second folding cover portion disposed between the second and third non-folding cover portions …

Translation: The device uses three rigid sections connected by two flexible folding hinges.

Why a mirror could replace an outer screen

For you, the payoff would be glancing at a closed device and seeing the time or a new message while the main screen stays out of view. The filing says this works without a separate display on the outside, which means one less screen to build into the device.

The filing lists smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart watches, smart glasses and car dashboard displays as places this display could go, though the main drawings show a three-panel foldable. The tradeoff is a small, low-detail alert area: the strip refreshes at one hertz or less, which saves power but suits a clock or a notification icon better than video.

Samsung's 97th filing we've tracked since May in our foldable phone patents follows earlier applications like one on glass-and-plastic screen covers and one reducing crease touch wiring.

Editorial take

The hard part of this idea is the folding itself. The mirror and the slow-refresh edge strip are simple additions, but they only matter if a screen that folds twice into a G shape already exists and holds up. That is a big piece of hardware to build first.

If it does, the shortest route to a product is short: a reflective strip on the outer fold, a slice of the display lit at a very slow refresh rate, and ordinary software to decide what to show. Nothing in the filing calls for new chips or a new kind of screen.

The limit is how much you can read. A flat mirror can carry a time or a short message, and the curved version can turn an image into colored dots. That makes this a clever way to show a glance-sized alert, and a feature that would arrive only after the folding design is settled.

Source: US 2026/0358861 A1 at the USPTO (PDF). Full patent text and figures are in the official publication.

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