Now that the Korean giant has closed out its flagship lineup for 2019 and the hype seems to have shifted to Samsung Galaxy S11, a fresh concept from Samsung promises to add a new dimension to foldable smartphones. This bendable phone, instead of folding in on itself horizontally as the Galaxy Fold does, will unfold into a smartphone, vertically. Think classic clamshells, but all-screen. Apparently, the phone can be unfolded to reveal a bigger-than-average screen, but at the same time it is more pocketable owing to its flip-folding form factor.
Samsung teased this nostalgia-infused flip design at a developer conference with a demo video that showcases a typical touchscreen smartphone folding in a fashion similar to clamshell phones from days gone by. But instead of transforming into a bigger phone, the way Huawei’s Mate X or Samsung’s own Galaxy Fold do, this concept aims to be more compact, so to speak. The phone might even feature an external screen if Samsung was to truly revive the obsolete clamshell design.
Courtesy of Bloomberg, rumors swirling around a similar foldable offering from Samsung had already surfaced in August. The idea was to bring a slimmer build, but at a pocket-friendly Samsung price tag. If the speculation is to be believed, the phone will unfurl into a 6.7-inch display.
As radical as this concept is, it is not actually not new. Motorola has already beaten Samsung to the market with its own clamshell-type folding smartphone and this foldable RAZR smartphone is supposed to be launched next month.
With that in mind, this RAZR flip-phone is likely to feature a wedge-style notch, but Samsung has a foldable-friendly punch hole technology in the works, which could mean that Samsung’s offering won’t have the unsightly notch. Further divulged details promise that this yet-to-be-announced phone will be powered by a twin-battery setup, each sitting inside one half of the phone. The Dutch tipsters GalaxyClub have allegedly found the batteries which Samsung has in development for this project.
The timeline for the release of this bendable phone remains a mystery, but if you were to project Samsung’s launch cycle, the Korean giant might take the wraps off this offering in February 2020 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.