Thought flip phones were a thing of the past?  Think again.  Samsung’s latest patent for a flexible smartphone could be the next big thing.

The tech company recently filed a patent with the Korean Intellectual Property Office for a device with a flexible OLED screen with a “complex semiautomatic folding action.”  The patent describes a touch screen extending the entire length of the device that can be folded in half via a flexible connector located at the halfway point like a hinge.

Samsung is also rumored to be working on a smartphone design with a roll-out expandable display which would allow users to select from either a 5 inch or an 8 inch screen based on their preference at different times.

The Korean tech giant isn’t the only one working on a flexible smartphone, however.  Apple has also been granted a patent for a mobile device with a foldable display, made from a combination of plastic, glass, ceramics and other materials.  The patent describes the use of conductive carbon nanotube paths to create a flexible and shatter-proof display capable of exhibiting seamless content.

So which version of these future flexible phones will hit the market first?  The technology behind foldable smartphones has been under development for years, with a number of different companies expressing interest.  However, whether or not we’ll see it for sale any time soon is still up for debate, though Samsung may have its first prototype ready to go by early 2017.

To view more of what Samsung is up to, click here.