Samsung unveils foldable smartphone concept

After what feels like years of rumours, Samsung today unveiled its concept for a foldable smartphone.

As expected, the currently unnamed device has a candy bar form-factor with a traditional display on the front. You can then open it up like a book to reveal a larger 7.3-inch screen dubbed the Infinity Flex Display inside. When using the phone in "tablet mode", you'll be able to run up to three apps at once.

Google says it is working closely with Samsung for the launch of its foldable phone, and will natively support foldable form-factors in Android to avoid fragmentation.

We just announced support for foldables at #AndroidDevSummit, a new form factor coming next year from Android partners.

Android apps run seamlessly as the device folds, achieving this form factor's chief feature: screen continuity. pic.twitter.com/NAfOmCOY26

— Android Developers (@AndroidDev) November 7, 2018

Samsung intends to start mass producing Infinity Flex Displays in the coming months, but has yet to confirm when it will begin selling devices other than sometime next year. Past rumours have however suggested it could cost over $2,000.

While Samsung was tipped to be the first manufacturer to unveil a foldable phone, it was pipped at the post by the Royole Flexpai, a Chinese Android smartphone that can fold out into a tablet. The Flexpai and Samsung's concept vary in design however; the Flexpai just has a single display that folds in half, rather than a secondary display hidden inside a smaller form factor.

Huawei also plans to unveil a foldable phone with 5G connectivity next year.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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