Rollable Phone UX

Adapting UX for Expandable Displays

From fixed to flexible

Traditional mobile UX optimized for fixed screens. Foldable and rollable phones change everything. Now displays expand and contract on demand, requiring a completely new approach to design.

Reimagining mobile user experience

These devices with displays that grow and shrink require a fundamentally different design approach—especially rollable phones, which can transform size on demand.

Diverse backgrounds

come together in a collaborative effort

I was part of the Next Generation Product Team tasked with creating New form of products. Unlike other Samsung teams, we comprised UX designers, S/W Engineers, H/W Engineers, and product designers, working on finding new possibilities with an expandable and foldable display.

We also collaborated with a design consulting agency ‘Right Brain’ to explore new user experience of rollable display.

Explore new possibilities rather than simply expanding

Adaptive Experiences for Every Moment

Rollable displays do more than just grow and shrink—they transform to match exactly what you're doing. By understanding your context, they deliver the right interface at the right time.

Dynamic by design. Content that flows naturally between states, responding intelligently to your needs without disruption.

Natural Usage Patterns of Rollable Devices

Exploring Future Usability Through Diary Research

• Included 20 students in a brainstorming session on future usability using diary methodology, capturing how users might interact with rollable devices in natural settings, revealing needs.
• Tracks usage patterns throughout the day, showing when and why users would expand or contract the display.
• Allows users to articulate needs in their own words, uncovering unexpected use cases designers might not anticipate.

when I expand it while editing photos—features appears that I usually only get on my desktop.

It's like the device reads my mind—when I need more context, I just expand and it's all connected.

When I unfold it, I don't just see more screen—I see more possibilities. Suddenly I'm thinking bigger.

Transform user needs into actionable design principles

We translated speculative user needs into testable hypotheses and actionable design principles, defining four key aspects of the rollable phone user experience:

01

Strengthen

Enhance current features or experience

02

Support

Add features to support current features

03

Connect

Connect to other relevant apps or services

04

Strengthen

Expand the layout of the current screen

Generate design ideas with the Design Thinking Toolkit

The Design Thinking Toolkit transforms vague ideas into storytelling. We created user scenarios through workshops, where participants brainstormed possibilities using random combinations of cards without constraints.

We tested and developed its usability in various situations based on four key concepts.

Development and Commercial Evaluation of a Rollable Phone Prototype

We developed a functional prototype of a rollable phone and integrated the described user experience app into a scenario-based format.

This concept product was presented to top-level decision-makers and assessed for commercialization potential. Unfortunately, as this project requires the highest level of security, ㅑit is unable to provide further details.

We didn't just create designs—we built a foundation for the future. While exploring breakthrough ideas for rollable displays, we strategically protected our innovations in an increasingly competitive market.

Our team exceeded targets with 120 patents filed, surpassing our annual goal of 100. I personally contributed 14 patents, each representing a unique solution for tomorrow's expandable devices.

Method of providing different screen expansion speed, width, and content according to user settings in a display expandable device

Method for controlling the flexible display by pressing the screen and moving in the direction the display moves

Method of setting a wallpaper that adapts to the width of the screen on a display-capable device