Samsung has long been rumoured to be working on a foldable smartphone, with the really smart money being on the device carrying the Galaxy X designation when it (eventually) drops. At least ‘eventually’ has just been upgraded to ‘some time this year’, according to a new report from CNBC in the States.
Samsung Mobile CEO, DJ Koh, according to the report, has confirmed that Samsung’s foldable device will be launching to market some time this year, though no specifics were discussed and Mr Koh very unkindly declined to elaborate on any hardware specifics the smartphone will include. But it’s not like we haven’t been hearing about the tech for several years now, dating back to early 2015.
Bend to our will
Samsung has been showing off flexible screens enthusiastically for the last few years, and patents taken out by the South Korean tech-maker have been surfacing for ages. But, while they give us some idea of what a Galaxy X might look like, they’re no substitute for a proper announcement. Especially since this is one secret Samsung actually seems capable of keeping. We suspect that we’re going to see a device which looks a little like a tablet folded in half, that can function in much the same way as a smartphone. And, if we’re lucky, in a few other novel ways as well.
Mr Koh said at IFA 2018 that it’s “time to deliver” on the promise of a foldable phone, adding a little about how the device might function. “You can use most of the uses … on foldable status. But when you need to browse or see something, then you may need to unfold it. But even unfolded, what kind of benefit does that give compared to the tablet? If the unfolded experience is the same as the tablet, why would they [he means us] buy it?”
He added that Samsung has attempted to make “every device, every feature, every innovation” meaningful to Samsung users — which, admittedly, doesn’t tell us anything illuminating, really.
Remember, remember, the show in November
Samsung doesn’t have a whole lot of time left for a reveal event, with the rest of the year quickly slipping away. We suspect if there is going to b a big reveal this year it’ll be at the Samsung Developer’s Conference in November… and you can bet we’ll be keeping an eye out for more details until then.