Codenamed “Winner,” the Galaxy Fold proved to be anything but a win for Samsung. The foldable device gave the company serious headaches earlier this year when the late-April launch was canceled so Samsung could fix a few huge problems that were causing displays to break. The phone did hit stores in some markets five months later, but the Fold is still a very fragile piece of technology with a screen that’s far too easy to ruin. Foldable devices are still the future of mobile though, and handset vendors shouldn’t stop improving them. Samsung is certainly not going to stop making foldable products or components for them. A new report says the Galaxy Fold 2 is already in the works, with Samsung eying an April launch for the handset.
Samsung expects foldable phones to finally bloom next year, with “Bloom” being the internal codename of its second-generation foldable phone. One interpretation of that code name is that Samsung is looking to increase the market share of its foldable phones, which saw limited sales this year.
Samsung is reportedly struggling to determine how large the Galaxy Fold 2 should be when unfolded, The Bell reports. The current model features a 7.3-inch main screen, while the second-gen Fold will have either a 6.7-inch or an 8.1-inch foldable display. Comparatively, the Mate X has an 8-inch main display.
Durability tests with the Galaxy Fold showed that while the foldable screen can be opened and closed tens of thousands of times before failing, the screen can be scratched and pierced with ease. It’s unclear whether the Galaxy Fold 2 will address those concerns. A rumored April launch window for the next Fold means that Samsung would have to unveil the phone early next year, perhaps at the same time as the Galaxy S11, which is expected to hit markets in March after a mid-February announcement.
The first-gen Galaxy Fold got a two-part announcement. Samsung first unveiled the foldable screen and new user interface last November, and then gave the Fold a proper announcement during the Galaxy S10 press event in February. Now that Samsung’s foldable screens are official, as is the One UI interface, the Fold 2 shouldn’t need two launch events.
