From TomsGuide.com….
There’s a reason why physical buttons have persisted on smartphones and most wearables over the years. Capacitive sensors work, but they’re not as intuitive or reliable as a regular button, especially on sporty wearables, when rain and sweat can interfere with use.
So you might think that a new patent suggesting that Samsung is planning to ditch the physical buttons on a foldable would be bad news. But actually upon inspecting the patent uncovered by LetsGoDigital, it makes perfect sense for the unique form factor of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.
The advantage comes when the handset is in its closed state when the two sides of the device meet. This allows the two halves of each capacitive area to combine into a larger button, which certainly beats the current design where your thumb has to lock on to a button that’s half the thickness of the frame.