Yahoo News Samsung will release the first-ever phone with a folding screen ‘early next year’
It’s been rumoured for years – but Samsung is finally about to unleash its bendy-screened, folding smartphone next year.
A support page for the handset, rumoured to be called the Galaxy X, has already been spotted online – and it’s believed it could be unveiled at the CES tech show in January.
Samsung patents hint that the device will have a hinge which allows it to be folded over, like a wallet – and company executives previously described a device which would unfold to offer a tablet-sized screen.
Koh Dong-jin president of mobile business confirmed the move in a media day for the Galaxy Note 8 in Seoul.
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Koh said the company aims to release a smartphone with a bendable display in 2018.
He told Boy Genius Report, ‘We will launch the device only after overcoming a series of technological barriers.’
Previous reports suggested that both Samsung and LG are planning to launch devices which ‘unfold’ into larger screens – allowing users to keep a tablet-style device in a pocket, according to the Korea Herald.
Apple also quietly patented a foldable iPhone concept, filing on August 28, last year – detailing a device which uses ‘carbon nanotubes’ to allow the screen to fold while still working.
Lee Seung Woo, an analyst at IBK Securities Company said last year, ‘‘This product could be a game-changer if Samsung successfully comes up with a user interface suitable for bendable screens,’
‘Their biggest obstacle was related to making transparent plastics and making them durable, which seems resolved by now.’
