We've continuously been hearing for a couple of years now that Samsung is working on foldable smartphones. The company has a plethora of patents to its name that detail some of the technology that might go into these foldable smartphones. Many expect these handsets to be out later this year. A report out of South Korea brings some new information about Samsung's foldable smartphones and suggests when they might be released.
According to the report, Samsung is going to release more than 100,000 units of its foldable smartphone in the third quarter of this year. The report also mentions that the device will have panels that face outward upon folding and that it will be transformed into a 7-inch tablet when unfolded.
It's said that Samsung initially completed the development of fold-in smartphones that tuck into the screen inside when folded and then began development of fold-out technologies around August last year. It recognized that users might find it inconvenient to unfold the smartphone every time they want to use it. “Since the company already secured fold-in phone technology, it was not a big challenge to shift into the fold-out phones,” an unnamed source quoted in the report said.
The report does caution that Samsung hasn't made a final decision yet about whether it's going to release the foldable smartphone this year because of marketability and profitability concerns. Samsung is said to make the final decision once it carries out the delayed annual personnel reshuffle in its IT and mobile divisions.
