This is far from the first time that rumours of a folding Samsung phone have picked up. Back in September last year, a report claimed the company could launch a device with a flexible display in early 2016. No such phone has appeared yet though.
According to South Korean news site ET News, Samsung is still working on the concept. It is now targeting a launch in 2017, planning to build a 7-inch phablet that can be reduced in size to 5-inches by folding it in half.
It would be carried in a pocket like a wallet and then opened up for use, providing a large display comparable to a small tablet. A literal “tablet in your pocket” could prove popular with businesses and mobile workers, letting you take work with you without having to carry a heavy tablet or laptop.
Samsung’s development of foldable OLED screens is no secret. It even has concept videos demonstrating what a folding phone could look like. In January, Samsung Electronics Director Lee Chang-hoon told investors “Development of foldable OLED is taking place according to our plan,” reports ET News. The company is now working with partners to make its 7-inch folding phablet a reality, planning to start mass-production of the innovative displays later this year.
Samsung has been toying with the idea since at least 2013. It is said to view it as a way to introduce new and totally unique technology into the increasingly stagnant smartphone market. The device would become a flagship product for the company, offering what so far no other manufacturer has built.
The company has recently experienced its first ever decline in annual smartphone shipments, despite the popularity of its 2015 flagship the Galaxy S6. The success of that device hasn’t been enough to offset the increasing competition from emerging manufacturers in China though.
By building an eye-catching folding device, Samsung would hope to differentiate itself from the crowd. It remains unclear whether consumers would warm to the new form-factor, a radical shift in smartphone design that hasn’t been observed since the introduction of full-body touchscreen displays.
Samsung is looking to recreate the flip phone revolution here, adding extra style and convenience to an existing design by letting it fold in half. The company is said to have made a “considerable amount” of progress in developing the concept over the past few months, making it likely that a product will hit the market next year.
