Samsung
will release its new foldable smartphone within the first half of next year,
its mobile business chief has said.
After years of
rumors and speculation, the foldable phone, which is a tablet when it is fully
opened and becomes a smartphone when closed, was revealed during the annual
Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday and Thursday.
It uses a new display
technology called Infinity Flex Display that allows users to open and close the
device a countless number of times without degradation.
“We can’t
confirm the date but will release (the foldable phone) within the first half of
next year,” Koh Dong-jin, president of IT & Mobile Communications at
Samsung Electronics, said in a press briefing held in San Francisco.
“The first batch
to be delivered will be at least 1 million, and the company is set to produce
more if it’s well-received in the market.”
After meeting
with Google CEO Sundar Pichai two months ago, Samsung has formed a task force
to create the effective mobile user experience on the Android platform and
unveiled the prototype to developers so they can make software specifically for
its devices, Koh said.
“We have
overcome several obstacles, including making folding lines invisible,” Koh
said. “We only need to come up with details of the user interface.”
Samsung plans to
release Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series, along with a foldable lineup every
year in selective markets, the tech company said.
The new device
will be hitting the market at a time when Samsung’s handset sales have been
slowing in major markets amid tougher competition with Apple in the high-end
market and Chinese rivals in the lower-end segment.(samaa News)
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