Samsung Officially Teases Futuristic Foldable Galaxy ‘Flip Phone’

Samsung Clamshell Foldable 1 1280x720 Credit: Samsung
Text Size
- +

Toggle Dark Mode

Folding smartphones are still a nascent technology. And, at this point, they’re still fairly problem-prone. But that doesn’t mean OEMs aren’t looking ahead.

Samsung is currently spearheading foldable smartphones. Earlier this year, it debuted the Samsung Galaxy Fold. Early display issues aside, it’s still the only real foldable flagship handset currently on the market.

The Galaxy Fold, of course, is essentially a tablet that folds in half to a more pocketable footprint. But Samsung is also looking into alternative designs — including one that looks a lot like a modern flip phone.

Samsung’s New Foldable Phone

At the Samsung Developer Conference today, the South Korean tech giant teased a possible new form factor for future foldable devices.

As you can see in the GIF above, the device folds in half vertically instead of horizontally. That’s definitely a different approach than the current Galaxy Fold.

There have been other indications that Samsung is working on a new foldable footprint, too. Earlier in October, a Chinese carrier poster of an upcoming Samsung device apparently called the “W20 5G” was leaked.

At the time, it didn’t seem all that legitimate. But the form factor in the poster is intriguingly similar to the one that Samsung teased today.

Of course, the video appears to only show off future possible form factors. So the device in the video is likely not an actual handset (yet). There are rumors that it or a similar device could carry the model number SM-F700F, however.

When Is Apple Going to Catch Up?

As you might expect, Apple is also working on foldable display and folding smartphone technology, if a slew of patents over the past few years are any indication.

Many of those patents also appear to show off a foldable phone form factor more akin to a futuristic flip phone than a tablet. (Although there are rumors of a foldable iPad-like device as well.)

As far as when Apple could debut such a device, it isn’t clear. There haven’t been any concrete rumors about a foldable iPhone in some time. But previous reports have suggested a release date as early as 2020.

Sponsored
Social Sharing