While the tech community is still reeling from the disaster that was the Samsung Galaxy Fold, IBM is once again raising the ante on breakthrough innovations. IBM recently confirmed that it had acquired the patent for a breathtaking new technology. The patent describes an electronic display device that has a rectangular shape, and it features no bezels whatsoever.
The patent was first discovered by the Dutch publication Lets Go Digital. It points to a patent published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office dated June 11, 2019. IBM appears to have submitted patent way back in 2016. IBM is widely known in the tech community as very aggressive when it comes to patents. The company even rewards its employees even for patenting 'stupid' ideas, and it promotes internal competition and recognition for such ideas.
The patent is titled Variable Display Size For An Electronic Display Device. The patent describes a hardware that looks like a wristwatch. It features a display that is rectangle and portrait oriented. What is stunning about this display is that it has no bezels on all sides.
The watch also has seven additional display compartments. This means that the user can essentially add seven more identical displays turning the watch into a full-fledged tablet computer. Each of these panels measures 3 x 2 inches. Which means, if all eight are interconnected, it can create an estimated 12 x 8 inches of real estate display. Based on the renders, the device will also have ports located at the bottom.
According to the report from Lets Go Digital, the patent did not thoroughly explain how these display tiles can be connected or assembled. Whether the device can be folded was not mentioned as well.
The patent noted that the core concept of the technology is to create "a set of slides that form a storage compartment within the housing."
From the looks of it, this is an exciting new technology with so much to offer. While the patent does hint that IBM is working on this prototype, it does not necessarily mean that it is working on a product which it plans to release to the public. That patent does not also necessarily mean that a working prototype is already made. What the patent points to is that IBM already has the idea for this kind of technology, and whether or not it will pursue it still remains greatly unknown.
