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Technology

Samsung Says It Will Unveil a Foldable Smartphone this Year (cnbc.com) 36

Samsung will unveil details of a foldable smartphone later this year, the CEO of its mobile division told CNBC, amid rumors that such a device was in the works. From the report: DJ Koh said that "it's time to deliver" on a foldable device after consumer surveys carried out by Samsung showed that there is a market for that kind of handset. Speaking to CNBC, Koh was tight-lipped on how the folding screen could work but ran through the design thinking of the upcoming smartphone, particularly how Samsung is trying to differentiate the experience from a tablet once it is unfolded. "You can use most of the uses ... on foldable status. But when you need to browse or see something, then you may need to unfold it. But even unfolded, what kind of benefit does that give compared to the tablet? If the unfolded experience is the same as the tablet, why would they (consumers) buy it?," Koh said at the IFA electronics show in Berlin last week. Further reading: Samsung Plans To Overhaul Its Smartphone Strategy at the Mid-range Price Point.
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Samsung Says It Will Unveil a Foldable Smartphone this Year

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  • by cyberchondriac ( 456626 ) on Tuesday September 04, 2018 @02:47PM (#57252430) Journal

    ..as this story unfolds.

    I'll see myself out, sorry.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    just a flip phone where the screen spans both halves...

    • Is there anything wrong with that? A flip phone is the most sensible form factor - it's compact when closed, reaches the mouth and ear when open, AND you don't need to worry about buttons being pressed when you're not using it. The only reason they fell out of style was the same thing Samsung is trying to overcome here, that it's very difficult to have a decent computer-style screen on a folding device.
  • by DontBeAMoran ( 4843879 ) on Tuesday September 04, 2018 @03:09PM (#57252534)

    The Nintendo DS!

  • I've been hoping to see a foldable device where you could get a larger screen, I wonder if the top will fold open then flip over so as not to waste the smaller screen?

    It seems like people might like it for movies, but if there was much of a visible line where the fold was that might put people off.

  • I've been waiting for a couple of years for a manufacturer to bring back the flipphone, but this time with a screen on both halves. It makes a lot of sense now that we have ultra-thin bezels and ever expanding phones. Women can't even fit half of the Android phones on the market into a standard pocket. Plus the phones are so thin now that doubling the thickness isn't a problem. IMHO phablets have significant usability problems that could be solved if you could just fold the thing in half when you put it
  • by ffkom ( 3519199 ) on Tuesday September 04, 2018 @04:14PM (#57252878)
    Or is this again one of these ridiculously oversized phones of today that do not fit comfortably in any pocket?

    If this phone is folded not considerably smaller than the unfoldable bricks they sell today, then I'm not interested.
    • that do not fit comfortably in any pocket?

      Skinny jeans aren't a good look regardless of what you think.

  • by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Tuesday September 04, 2018 @04:22PM (#57252914)

    It would, of course, depend on the implementation. And there's no way I'd be buying the gen 1 version of it.

  • It looks interesting but pretty thick. will make it harder to sneak into work. wonder about the fold, if it will eventually crack and/or cause dead spots.

  • by bobbied ( 2522392 ) on Tuesday September 04, 2018 @05:59PM (#57253418)

    History repeats, just stick around long enough, you will see it's true.

    Now Flip-phones will be smart ones too..

  • The obvious answer is that you have a tablet when you want a tablet (to work, watch video, etc.), and something that fits in your pocket when you're carrying it around or using it as a handheld phone, so it's more convenient.

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