Samsung’s Foldable Android Device Gets Certified In South Korea, May Launch In 2018
Innovation in the smartphone industry has seen a dip in the past few years, with near bezel-less displays being one of the few new “big changes” happening. We have seen smartphone manufacturers tinker with displays so far, with Samsung’s flagship devices sporting a curved display, LG’s V series featuring a secondary display and the likes of Vivo sticking a secondary display at the back of the phone. Keeping up with its tradition of innovating in the display department, Samsung showcased a foldable display smartphone back in 2013 and announced its desire to make the phone a commercial product. Now, the smartphone with a foldable display has been certified in Samsung’s home market, South Korea.
The phone is expected to launch in 2018 as the Galaxy X which now sounds like a rip-off of the iPhone X, which means that Samsung will definitely choose a different name for their marquee device.
According to Let’sGoDigital, the phone has appeared in a filing from the Korean National Radio Research Agency (NRRA), with a model number SM-G888N0. Moreover in the filing, the device is listed out as a “radio equipment for global LTE communication,” while it was spotted as a “smartphone” at the Wi-Fi Alliance. The filing however, does not reveal any other details about the smartphone.
After the big reveal in 2013, the hopes of seeing a foldable Android smartphone on the shelves of mobile stores seemed to have died a slow death. After IFA 2017 in Berlin, Dongjin Koh, President of mobile business at Samsung told some reporters at a news conference in South Korea that a foldable smartphone is in the works and the company is aiming for a 2018 release. The phone will be a part of Samsung’s ‘Note’ lineup, according to Dongjin Koh. He also said that there are still hurdles to overcome and a possible release would be pushed back if the issues are not resolved in time.
When we can overcome some problems for sure, we will launch the product. We are digging thoroughly into several issues we must overcome, as we don’t want to just make a few, sell a few and be done. We want to hear that Samsung made a very good product. We have a plan to adopt a foldable display in our roadmap.
A number of patents as well as Samsung’s own concept video from CES 2013 tell us what to expect from the Galaxy X. Samsung is most likely to start small, with a smartphone that folds halfway like a wallet. Another design, in line with Samsung’s prototype unveiling, could see the phone unfold into a full-size tablet.
