The new stories involving Samsung over the past few months have been less than flattering, with the Galaxy Note 7 severely denting the company's reputation. It may be a welcome distraction then, that news of an interesting phone patent from the South Korean manufacturer has surfaced. According to Android Police, a pair of images have been found featuring a foldable mobile device bearing a Samsung watermark. 

With Samsung seemingly eeking out every last bit of innovation it can from a curved display, the need to bring something new to the market has arisen. Could a foldable device, pictured below, be the answer? 

To date the company has been experimenting with flexible OLED screens, much like LG, so a foldable phone would seem like the next logical step. While the details on how the device would actually fold are unclear, if the images are anything to go by, there appears to be a Surface Book-esque fulcrum hinge which allows it to double-up into a wallet-type shape. 

The end goal is unclear, as is when such a device would see the light of day, but it's good to see Samsung moving forward from the Note 7 exploding battery fiasco.