Samsung is finally launching its foldable phone. Here's the proof.
It has been widely rumored that Samsung has been working on the Galaxy X1, Galaxy X1 Plus foldable smartphones. However, now the company has confirmed that it aims to launch a foldable smartphone next year under its ‘Galaxy Note’ brand.
Koh Dong-jin, president of mobile business at Samsung Electronics, said that the company is setting its eyes on 2018 to release a smartphone with a bendable display. On the other hand, he also mentioned that there are several hurdles that the company has to overcome, which has lead to the pushing of the launch date. ”As the head of the business, I can say our current goal is next year,” he told reporters. “When we can overcome some problems for sure, we will launch the product.” While the “problem” that the Samsung will face in launching a bendable smartphone was not discussed, analysts say mass-producing a foldable phone with top tech features and a thin body will take time. ALSO READ: Lenovo shows off its foldable Android tablet at Tech World
Samsung first showcased a flexible display prototype in 2013. After which for almost two years there were rumors that Samsung was close to showing off its first smartphones that can be folded. Later in the year, the phones were named Samsung Galaxy X1, Galaxy X1 Plus, and were rumored to launch at MWC 2017. Recently, Samsung filed a trademark for the Galaxy X moniker, suggesting the concept would soon become a reality.
In terms of design, the patent filed by Samsung reveals that the Galaxy X is expected to come with “flexible” or “secondary” display. According to the patent, the secondary display turns on when the smartphone is folded. The sketches reveal that the smartphone has a bendable section right in the middle, allowing users to fold the device like a flip phone. The smartphone is said to feature a physical home button up front, and power and volume buttons on the right-hand side. ALSO READ: Samsung’s foldable Galaxy X smartphone receives Bluetooth certification
Koh also said the company is working with Harman to develop an artificial intelligence-enabled speaker that users can speak to in order to play music and conduct other tasks. Samsung’s AR-enabled speaker will give a tough fight to Amazon and Google. Having said that, Apple’s Homepod is due to go on sale later this year as well. While there is not much information available on it as yet, we can expect Samsung to use the company’s Bixby voice assistant in its speakers.