Want to fold your Steam Deck in half? Samsung thinks you do

Samsung brought something interesting to MWC 2025, and it’s called Flex Gaming. At the show in Barcelona, Samsung Display debuted its foldable gaming handheld concept, which features a 7.2-inch foldable OLED display — a world’s first, according to Samsung Display.

Although the device itself is new, Samsung Display revealed its plans for a foldable handheld a few months ago when a patent surfaced detailing a device that looks almost identical to the one the company is showing at MWC. In years past, Samsung has dabbled with handheld concepts, but this is the first time it has shown off a device that’s directly built off of a patent.

A clear application of foldable OLED

It makes sense that Samsung would venture into gaming handhelds with its foldable display tech. Samsung Display already produces the screens for some of the best foldable phones, and there are clear applications of that tech in handhelds. Considering the size, the Flex Gaming concept is essentially a phone with Switch-like controller strapped to the sides.

There are a couple of unique changes, however. For this design, Samsung ostensibly wanted the device to fold completely in half, and to that end, it designed cutouts specifically for the joysticks. The device uses low-profile joysticks, similar to the Nintendo Switch, and they nestle into opposing holes when you fold the device in half. These holes feature the D-pad and face buttons around the edges. It’s a unique concept, though it doesn’t exactly look comfortable to use.

Samsung showed off the handheld alongside several other devices, including the Steam Deck OLED. However, the Flex Gaming concept doesn’t look like it’s angled toward the handheld gaming PC market. Samsung displayed the device running the mobile game Dark and Darker, and considering the size of the device, it’s likely to pack a weaker mobile chipset.

Although Samsung’s prototype isn’t angled toward a device like the Steam Deck, it could be in the future. The concept comes from Samsung Display, which is separate from Samsung proper and sells displays to various companies. It seems unlikely that we’d get a foldable Steam Deck directly from Valve, but more adventurous handheld brands like OneXPlayer and Ayaneo could play with the tech in the future.

It could also work for SBC handhelds. A device like this may not have a ton of power, but it’s at least big enough to play games that could normally run SBCs.

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For now, however, this is just a concept. The natural issue of where to put the joysticks is already a major design hurdle, and that’s before you consider the internal problems a device like this could have, from power and thermal issues to proper battery placement. Still, it’s a unique take on a concept that Samsung has toyed with in the past, and it’s a rare showcase of a unique patent that was turned into an actual prototype for all of us to see.