It’s Official: Samsung Is Going All In On Folding Smartphones


Samsung’s folding ‘Galaxy X’ is one of the industry’s worst-kept secrets. The company showed off a prototype at IFA 2018 and explicitly named “foldable OLED smartphones” as one of its key products for the next financial year.

Previously, it had been assumed that the Galay X would be offered in extremely limited quantities to gauge consumers’ interest in this new, experimental form factor. However, a new report from Samsung suggests that there are much grander plans in store for this technology.

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/05/everything-we-know-about-samsungs-folding-galaxy-x-smartphone/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/05/Folding-Phone-410×231.jpg” title=”Samsung ‘Galaxy X’: Everything We Know So Far” excerpt=”The concept of an Android smartphone that you can fold up and put in your pocket is inching closer to reality. According to the latest leaked reports, Samsung’s long-rumoured folding Galaxy X is set to make its debut in under a year. Here’s what you need to know.”]

During an earnings call with investors yesterday, Samsung admitted that sales of the Galaxy S9 were below expectations. It has become apparent that offering a slightly improved flagship each year is no longer galvanising the buying public. Something new and exciting is needed.

In an accompanying press release, Samsung explained how it plans to turn things around in the future. Here’s the relevant excerpt:

Looking to the future, the Company will continue to reinforce product competitiveness based on hardware leadership, by adopting cutting-edge technology and new form factors and gaining leadership in 5G.

This is interesting for a couple of reasons. The emphasis placed on “new form factors” suggests that folding phones will be a significant product category for the company. (Until now, analysts had been predicting a production run of as little as 300,000 units.)

Also of note is the mentioning of 5G in the same sentence. This can only mean that the ‘future’ that Samsung is referring to is just around the corner, rather than years away.

In other words, we should be getting our first glimpse of a folding Galaxy smartphone any month now. This is backed by a previous leak, which claimed the Samsung Galaxy X will make its official debut at CES 2019 in January.

According to the latest specification leak, Samsung’s current prototype boasts no fewer than three OLED screens. Two of these combine into a seven-inch display, while the third appears on the phone’s opposite side. Presumably, the third screen will allow you to access certain features when the phone is folded.

What do you guys think? Is a folding screen the adrenaline shot that the smartphone industry needs? Or will it be another gimmick that nobody needs? Tell us what you think in the comments!


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