Get the newsletter
Samsung · AR / VR · Filed Apr 18, 2025 · USPTO published Jun 11, 2026 · Jun 11 release

Samsung Patents a Two-Gesture System for Taking Screenshots Inside Virtual Worlds

Taking a screenshot on your phone is muscle memory — two buttons, done. But how do you capture something inside a virtual world where there are no buttons? Samsung has a patent answer: two hand gestures.

By · Updated · 3 min read

Samsung Patent: Gesture-Based Screenshots in Virtual Spaces, figure from US 2026/0164113 A1
Figure from the official USPTO publication.
Publication number
US 2026/0164113 A1(US20260164113A1)
Applicant
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Filed · Published
Apr 18, 2025 · Jun 11, 2026
Inventors
Bonseuk GOO, Youngtae KIM, Byungseok SOH, Youngchol LEE, Weonhee LEE, Kisung LEE, Yongseok JANG
Status when we published
Waiting for an examiner
Document
15 claims
US classification
348/222.1
Examiner
HENN, TIMOTHY J (Art Unit 2639)
Parent application
Continuation of PCT/KR2023/012088 (filed Aug 16, 2023)(PCTKR2023012088)

What Samsung's virtual-space screenshot system actually does

Imagine you're wearing a headset and exploring a virtual room — maybe a showroom, a game, or a 3D workspace. You spot something you want to save. On a phone you'd hit a button, but in a virtual environment your hands are the only tool you have.

Samsung's patent describes a system where you use two separate hand gestures to do what a screenshot button normally does. The first gesture tells the device "I want to capture something" and picks the object you're looking at. The second gesture lets you choose how to capture it — think of it like picking between "save just this object" or "save the whole scene."

The result is a captured image generated from the virtual space, tailored to whatever mode you selected. It's essentially a screenshot system designed from the ground up for hands-free, controller-free virtual environments — the kind of experience Samsung has been building toward with its mixed-reality hardware.

How the two gestures pick an object and a capture mode

The patent describes an electronic device — most likely a headset or glasses-style display — that shows a virtual space to the user and responds to hand gestures to capture images from within it.

The system works in two steps:

  • First gesture (capture intent + object selection): The user performs a gesture that signals they want to capture something. The device interprets this to identify a specific object within the virtual scene as the capture target.
  • Second gesture (mode selection): A follow-up gesture lets the user specify the capture mode — essentially, the format or scope of what gets saved. This could mean capturing just the isolated object, a wider scene view, or some other variant the system supports.

Once both inputs are registered, the device generates a captured image of the selected object according to the chosen mode. The patent doesn't specify exactly what "capture modes" are on offer, but the two-step architecture suggests the system is designed to be flexible — different modes for different use cases, all triggered without touching a physical button.

The underlying logic ties into how modern XR (extended reality) devices handle input: since there's no keyboard or trackpad, gesture recognition replaces traditional UI controls entirely.

What this means for Samsung's AR and mixed-reality ambitions

For anyone using a mixed-reality headset, this kind of gesture-based screenshot system solves a genuinely awkward problem. Right now, capturing content inside a virtual environment often means fumbling for a physical button or digging through a menu — which breaks immersion immediately. A two-gesture shortcut keeps you in the experience.

This patent also signals where Samsung is investing in its XR software layer. The company has been building out its Galaxy XR ecosystem, and patents like this fill in the everyday usability details that make or break a headset as a daily-use device. Screenshots are mundane — but they're also one of the most-used features on any screen-based device, and getting them right in 3D environments is a real design challenge.

Source: US 2026/0164113 A1 at the USPTO (PDF). Full patent text and figures are in the official publication.

Get our take in your Top Stories

Liked this breakdown? Add Patentlyze as a preferred source on Google, and our plain-English take shows up more often in your Top Stories the next time Samsung patent news breaks.

Add Patentlyze on Google One click.
There are more where this came from

We read every patent application Big Tech publishes and send you the ones worth knowing. Plain English, free, every week.

More from Samsung

All 1,629 Samsung patents →

More in AR / VR

All 690 AR / VR patents →