The push for bigger and better displays could see Samsung adopt rear-mounted displays on future Galaxy S and Galaxy Note models

The push for bigger and better displays could see Samsung adopt rear-mounted displays on future Galaxy S and Galaxy Note models

Notifications, or access to menus on the fly, could be handled by a secondary display that is mounted on the back of the phone, according to new Samsung documents. In a bid to offer users more information, a rear-mounted secondary display could well appear on future Galaxy S and/or Galaxy Note devices.

Samsung has even applied for a patent for the proposed new design, which you can see below:

Image Source: Let's Go Digital

We know Samsung is working on flexible and rollable OLED displays for future releases, but this is the first time we have heard about a secondary display located on the rear of a phone. According to the images, there are multiple ways of achieving this, from a complete wrap-around-display to displays that are smaller and more focused.

Either way, the idea behind them is simple: more information. Thought another thing it could feature is additional navigation controls, things like a trackpad which could make navigation even easier on the phones.

The patent filing also demonstrates how the secondary display could be used for certain menu settings. Things like contact cards, for instance, or Maps would be ideal for this secondary display. You could use it to run Maps, while keeping the main display free, or as a place for notifications where they could be conveniently managed.

Of course, it goes without saying that all this could simply be just a test, a means of trying some new form factors out. There is no guarantee that any of these concepts will ever see the light of day – or whether they'd actually be useful in practice.

But it does show that Samsung is testing new physical form factors out, that the current style of phone, while ubiquitous, could soon be usurped by a new style of design. And this, especially when combined with things like flexible and rollable OLED, makes room for some pretty interesting developments inside the next 18-24 months.