More trifold smartphones are popping up after Huawei’s $3,600 splash

China’s Huawei isn’t the only smartphone maker adding a third display to its devices.

At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in Barcelona, a number of firms were showing off their display technology innovations.

The South Korean tech giant Samsung revealed its new “trifold” concept devices at the event: the Flex G and Flex S.

The Flex G has three screens and folds flat inwards and outwards, a bit like a book. The Flex S, on the other hand, has a more zigzag-like shape. It’s meant to resemble an “S” — hence the name.

It comes after Chinese tech giant Huawei last month launched its new Mate XT, a 3,499 euro ($3,678.56) smartphone with three screens, in international markets.

Samsung stressed that its Flex G and S models were only concept devices — so don’t expect to find them on shelves anytime soon.

Still, it’s a sign of where smartphone makers are seeing the next wave of innovation.

‘Sea of sameness’

The smartphone market has hit something of a plateau over recent years, with many models not straying far from the standard form factor of a bar-shaped device.

Apple set the tone for what the devices in our pockets would look like when it launched the first iPhone in 2008. But smartphone makers are now trying to pull the market out of this so-called “sea of sameness.”

On Tuesday, British consumer tech startup Nothing launched its new Phone (3a), a 329-euro ($356.28) budget model with a quirky design and LED light system that lights up when you get calls or notifications.

Nothing co-founder Akis Evangelidis — who is planning a move to India as the startup plans an aggressive expansion push in the country — told CNBC the company is trying to shake up the smartphone market with something more fun and unique.

Using the Indian market as an example, Evangelidis said: “People are walking away from pure functional needs when it comes to product. They aspire to brands that have more of an emotional benefit, and I think that’s where the opportunity is.”