Update: The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 may fix the Fold 3's biggest drawback, the camera under the display. And according to new rumors, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 will not have a slot for the S Pen.

Given the success of the Galaxy Z Fold 3, Samsung is definitely working on a new version of the foldable phone for 2022. And based on recently approved patents, the company may be considering a new look for the next edition of its best folding phone.

According to Let's Go Digital, earlier this month Samsung received approval from the World Intellectual Property Office for a patent covering a foldable phone with an increased screen size and a horizontal hinge. To illustrate the appearance of such a device, a Dutch site created a concept rendering showing the horizontal hinge of the Galaxy Z Fold.

Like previous Folds, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 uses a vertical hinge, which means that the internal display is visible when the phone is opened like opening a book. With a horizontal hinge, the phone can be opened like a flip phone.

The advantage of changing to a horizontal hinge would seem to give Samsung the opportunity to increase the size of future Galaxy Z Folds while maintaining the portability of a foldable phone. Samsung is touting the Galaxy Z Fold as a productivity booster, and having a larger screen may appeal to those who want to get things done on the go.

When closed, the phone in the Let's Go Digital renderings looks like a square exterior display.

These do not necessarily mean that Samsung is focusing on this particular design for the Galaxy Z Fold 4. Patents do not always lead to finished products, and many such patents are commercialized without ever seeing the light of day.

Still, there is no denying that foldable phones are of growing interest to Samsung. Last month, the company announced that sales of the Galaxy Z Fold 3 were five times those of the Galaxy Z Fold 2.

And earlier this week, Slashgear covered a Korean report that Samsung expects to ship 10 million foldable phones next year.Galaxy Z Fold 4 will account for 29% of all foldable phones produced by Samsung, and its successor, the Galaxy Z Flip 3, will account for 68% of foldable phone production, the report claimed.

Samsung currently dominates the foldable phone market with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3. No real competition has emerged, and just this week, rumors surfaced that Google had scrapped plans for a Pixel Fold to compete with Samsung's handsets.