Samsung on Wednesday delivered the main keynote of its SDC18 developer conference that’s currently underway in California, unveiling the phone we’ve been waiting for. The foldable Galaxy handset, which we’ll still refer to as Galaxy F until Samsung bestows an official name on it, and its Infinity Flex display aren’t just rumors at this point. They’re official, and they represent an important evolution of smartphone design. But Samsung only offered us a brief look at the Galaxy F, focusing on the display and new user interface experience that it proposes, without going into more details about the handset’s specs and design.
Samsung carefully orchestrated the choreography of its presentation to reveal as little as possible about the phone on top of the things it had planned for the conference. The Galaxy F prototype was shown in a thick case that makes it anything but desirable. And most of the phone’s renders that Samsung shared during the keynote were projected against a black backdrop, making it impossible to really see the phone, especially if you were streaming the conference live.
However, that doesn’t mean we don’t have more details about the phone, that Samsung will launch.
In a presentation that followed the main keynote, Samsung revealed the screen specs of the Galaxy F. The main screen measures 7.3 inches, featuring a resolution of 2152 x 1538 (420 ppi and 4.2:3 aspect ratio). When folded, the phone offers quick access to apps via an external 4.58-inch display with 1960 x 840 resolution (420 ppi and 21:9 aspect ratio).
And here are the @Samsung foldable phone display specs #SDC18 pic.twitter.com/tkGvmqJcdb
— Shara Tibken (@sharatibken) November 7, 2018
Samsung also shared with the press B-roll video of the event, which reveals several of the phone’s design features.
Here’s the phone Samsung showed on stage:
And here’s the Galaxy F folded:
Let’s see now what the video reveals. The phone will have edges at the top and bottom, but the screen is supposed to curve at the edges, just like the Galaxy S and Note:
Here’s a look at the screen when the device is folded, revealing the same side edges:
Here’s one more look at the left edge and the top bezel:
Here’s the bottom bezel and its familiar virtual buttons, though the multitasking button looks different:
The selfie cam is placed in the top right corner:
The physical buttons are found on the right side of the handset:
The handset is also supposed to have curved corners, like most smartphones these days. Again, that rectangle camouflage is supposed to protect its final design:
Finally, when the foldable phone is closed, the two sides of the screen won’t come in contact along the width of the phone. There will be a small gap:
What we don’t get to see is the exterior of the phone, which includes the external display and the main camera.
These are just renders, of course, and Samsung has time to change various design details compared to the clip above. But Samsung also said during the event it’s approaching mass-production so the final design of the handset must be finalized.
