Samsung has rolled out a dizzying array of morphing screen concepts at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. There doesn't seem to be much design intent behind the concepts, which are instead ruled by raw experimentation; it's like they're throwing a number of "solutions" out there to see what sticks.

OLED Smart Speaker

Perhaps the strangest of the bunch: A speaker with a screen that mechanically unfurls to double its size:

Flex Note Extendable

Equally bizarre is this screen that can both bend and stretch, apparently intended for automotive applications:

Flex In&Out

A smartphone display that can bend in half, in both directions:

Slidable Flex Solo

A screen that stretches from rectangular to square. (Is there a demand for square visual content?)

Rollable Flex

This screen retracts into a housing. Window blinds of the future?

Flex Magic Pixel

Perhaps the most prosaic of the concepts. It's a screen with a kind of lenticular effect, providing a measure of privacy:

I suppose the last one has some commercial applications. The rest of the concepts are, and perhaps this is a sign of the times, technically impressive but emotionally underwhelming; solutions in search of a problem.

With the concepts involving motorized screens, there is also the question of speed. I understand it's incredibly technically challenging to get them to move in this way, hence the snail-like pace of their transformation. In this age of instant gratification, will consumers be willing to wait for these things to unfurl?

Perhaps in time some practical applications for these concepts will emerge, but for now, it's just a Wild West for engineers.