Samsung’s most exciting smartphone ever, a handset that folds in half has been in the works for at least a couple of years. But, the handset has been featured in all sorts of rumor since 2016, with Samsung postponing the rumored launch over and over. The last time it happened was after the Galaxy S9 launch earlier this year when the Samsung said it will launch the handset when it feels it’s ready. Even earlier than that, in January, Samsung said that there were plenty of things to be ironed out, many on the software side.
In the meantime, Samsung hosted its second annual Unpacked event of the year, unveiling the Galaxy Note 9 in New York last week. And the DJ Koh made additional remarks about the foldable handset, suggesting the phone will be launched soon enough, in time to claim the title of world’s first foldable phone.
A few weeks before the Galaxy Note 9 we learned that Huawei is also gunning for the title, looking to obtain it at whatever cost, profits included. However, that report did not provide any details about Huawei’s handset, other than Chinese screen maker BOA is providing the foldable displays.
We have no idea when Huawei’s foldable handset will launch either. But now we know that Samsung wants to beat everyone to market with a foldable device, which means it’ll unveil it at some point in the coming months. Does that mean the company is rushing out its first foldable Galaxy phone for all the wrong reasons? We certainly hope that’s not the case, but Samsung has certainly had premature phone launches in the past, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
Talking to reporters after the Note 9 event, Koh told them that Samsung was “focusing on developing innovations that will be genuinely accepted and liked by consumers” for the foldable phone. He also said, per ZDNet, that the company “didn’t want to lose the worlds-first title.”
On the other hand, we already have foldable phones, albeit unexciting ones, and they look like this:
He added that the launch event isn’t far away and the company has overcome many obstacles when it comes to quality and durability. He added that the foldable model will grow into a series of its own rather than being a singular event. “We wouldn’t have started [the project] if it was a going to be a one-time thing,” Koh said.
Galaxy F is currently the rumored branding of the Samsung foldable phone. Previously, we thought the smartphone will be called Galaxy X.
The foldable handset will join the other two Samsung flagship handsets, including the Galaxy S and Note lines. In spite of reports, Samsung doesn’t plan to merge the two lines in the near future.
Samsung also said the next Galaxy S flagship, the Galaxy S10, will not be the firm’s first 5G phone next year, adding that a different model will get 5G connectivity.
