Samsung To Roll Out First Commercial Foldable Phone by Q3 This Year; LG is Hot On Its Heels [Video]
ByBack in CES 2013, Samsung floated around a concept of making a foldable phone. The idea was brought about by the advent of flexible OLED displays that makes the concept of making displays bend or fold in on itself a feasible venture.
Evidently, Samsung is not one company to shy away from such venture in aiming to be the first company to produce a commercially viable folding phone. However, there are also companies out there that are aiming for the same goal.
Nonetheless, Samsung seems to be leading the pack in bringing its Project Valley concept within end-user reach. The Korean tech giant officially has a trademark for the Galaxy X moniker, according to GSM Arena. Accordingly, Samsung is at work on two models: SM-X9000 Galaxy X1 and SM-X9050 Galaxy X1+.
In all likelihood, if Samsung does not push through with its option by next year, the next likely contender to produce a flexible/foldable phone is LG Electronics, which will employ tech it calls P-OLED. Similar to Samsung, it uses a plastic substrate for its displays, resulting in a simpler, thinner, energy efficient and lighter screen.
Following Samsung's lead in 2013, Apple also filed patents for foldable devices. Lenovo came out with a wrap around phone concept it called the CPlus, and a folding tablet it called Folio during Lenovo Tech World last year. LG and Nokia have also demonstrated concept devices with flexible displays and chassis.
However, reports suggest that Samsung's Project Valley is well underway. It is reportedly coming out with a 4K display, which is also reportedly capable of utilizing various biometric forms including fingers, face, and palm. Most recently, the buzz is that Samsung might make the device official sometime in Q3-Q4 of this year.
According to The Korean Herald, aside from a Q3 release of foldable smartphones, the company is expected to roll out over 100,000 of the foldout units. Reportedly, the smartphone may be used as a 7-inch tablet when unfolded.
It seems Samsung has it all perfected on the technical side, so what is keeping them from releasing said products on the market? Multiple sources indicated that marketability and profitability issues hamper such release. Another issue is that the company has yet to reshuffle its corporate structure at the executive level after being its president; Park Geun-Hye got embroiled in a political scandal.
Reportedly, Samsung's greatest rival, LG Electronics is likewise expected to come up with over 100,000 foldable devices by Q4 this year, claims an anonymous source. Sources say that LG's technology is more advanced than that of Samsung. However, unlike Samsung who will make use of their tech on their own brand, LG is more likely to use theirs for other global clients such as Apple or Huawei.
