Much has been said and written about Samsung's foldable device. The company has been working on it for a couple of years. More information about this device will be provided at SDC 2018 next month. The device may not be out until next year.
DJ Koh, president and CEO of Samsung's mobile division, dropped some hints about the foldable device on the sidelines of the Galaxy A9 launch event in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. He said that the device will double as a tablet and phone.
Samsung's foldable device will be very versatile
Prior reports have suggested that the device will have a book-like form factor with a vertically foldable display. The in-folding design will hide the primary display entirely when folded. The phone will remain usable with the external display when the device is folded. It's said to feature a 7.3-inch primary OLED display and a 4.6-inch external OLED display.
Koh didn't confirm the specifics of the displays. He did mention that it would be possible to use the device as a tablet with multitasking capability before folding it up and using it as a phone. “When we deliver a foldable phone, it has to be really meaningful to our customer,” he said, adding that “If the user experience is not up to my standard, I don't want to deliver those kind of products.”
This isn't the first time that Koh is stressing that the user experience of this device has to be worth it for Samsung to launch it. He has previously said that the company's foldable device won't be a gimmick. He reiterated that yesterday. The device will be released globally.
Koh is upbeat on the prospects for the foldable device. “I'm positive that we do need a foldable phone,” he said, adding that “Possibly when we start selling the foldable phone, it may be a niche market, but definitely, it will expand.”
Samsung's developers' conference takes place early next month. The company is expected to provide a sneak peek of the device at the event in San Francisco.
