The Phone That Could Fold

Smartphones, they’re everywhere. It seems as though everyone has one. We use them for almost everything, including ordering items on Amazon or binge watching movies or shows on Netflix. Every year, there is a newer, bigger, and better iPhone or Galaxy and everyone always feels like they’ve got to have the best. However, Samsung is planning to change it up this year: creating a foldable phone.

This announcement came from a Chinese tipster who has been known to leak accurate and correct information about companies before they announce it. According to the leaker’s twitter, the foldable phone, the Samsung Galaxy X, is set to be either announced or released in Quarter 3 of 2017. The same person also claims that the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will be released in Q4 of 2017. It is believed that the Note 8 will not explode, unlike its predecessor.

Patent designs from Samsung’s foldable phone patent. The lined part on the back is where a phone could fold. Licensed under the Public Domain by Samsung Electronics/Korea Intellectual Property Office

The new foldable phone is not just any flip phone, it is a foldable smartphone/tablet. This means that the screen and the phone itself will have the ability to completely fold over, all of it. According to similar sources, the device will act as a phone when it is folded over and then it will become an 8-inch tablet when it is opened. You will not have to unfold the device every time you want to use it as a phone.

Warning: incoming nerd stuff. The Samsung Galaxy X is believed to have the same processor as the Galaxy S8: Qualcomm’s 835 processor. It is also said that the phone will feature a dual camera setup and a MicroSD slot. The battery will most likely not be removable. It is also rumored to have a 6.4 inch Super AMOLED 4K display. It will also have Samsung’s new AI, Bixby, that was introduced into the Galaxy S8. While it is the first of its kind, Samsung has already perfected the foldable screen technology.

A patent design for Samsung’s foldable phone patent. Licensed under the Public Domain by Samsung Electronics/Korea Intellectual Property Office.

While the phone will come out in Q3, not everyone will be able to buy one this year. It is believed that Samsung will produce 100,000 foldable phones and release them in some parts of Europe and South Korea. If the phone is successful, they will mass produce the phones in 2018 and sell them worldwide. Samsung is being very cautious with this project after the exploding Note 7 ordeal.

Despite the successes of Samsung’s foldable phone project known as Project Valley, LG is working hard to make their own foldable phones. LG has also created a foldable screen technology and also plans to release 100,000 phones in a test market. However, there is one part where LG is not copying Samsung in the foldable phone race; they are believed to be willing to sell their foldable screens to other companies like Apple. There are many other companies including Lenovo, Vivo, and Oppo who are also seeking to release a foldable phone. Lenovo held their TechWorld conference on June 9, 2016, in San Francisco, at the conference, they showed the audience some prototype phones and tablets that could fold. The phone could fold around your wrist and the tablet folded into a phone. Both devices actually worked when they were folded. This is one of the first glimpses we have had of a foldable screen.

While the Samsung Galaxy X is being kept in the shadows, Samsung has recently announced the Samsung Galaxy S8 and has confirmed that the Note 8 will be released. They have also announced that both phones will not explode and that they are safe. The Samsung Galaxy S8 will be released on April 21 and the Note 8 will come out sometime at the end of the year.