Just a few days ago, we reported that Samsung — the South Korean tech-giant — was recently awarded a patent outlining a smartphone that features a bendable display panel boasting Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) technology. And now, literally less than a week later, a new report alleges that the Galaxy S7-maker is seriously toying with the idea of announcing not just one, but two smartphones featuring its freshly patented bendable, OLED display tech — perhaps even as soon as 2017.
According to a report published in Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources, one of the two potentially forthcoming Samsung handsets will feature a foldable, clamshell design. Yes, fold in half, as in, fold in half, completely — a la the company’s many flip phones of yesteryear, only on steroids.
The other phone, according to the same report, could potentially feature a 5-inch display capable of expanding to a whopping 8-inch tablet size panel.
The report alleges that Samsung’s attempts to bring these devices to market are already well underway — codenamed internally under the “Project Valley” moniker. Also, the project is apparently underway to such an extent that Samsung could potentially unveil one (or possibly even both?) of these smartphones at 2017’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) next February in Barcelona, Spain.
Also, for what it’s worth, these sources expressly indicated that the devices — if and when they launch — will not do so under Samsung’s ‘Galaxy S’ umbrella of handsets.
It’s important to note that the South Korean smartphone-maker has a clear leg-up in the race to release a handset featuring OLED display technology. How? Well, not only is the company one of the world’s largest suppliers of OLED panels, but it has already released multiple handsets boasting the technology — including curved OLED displays, which are featured on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 Edge.
Of course, the company has yet to release any handsets featuring a ‘bendable’ OLED display, however, that hasn’t stopped its marketing team from teasing us with (undeniably awkward) concept videos over the years. Check out one of them below.
What makes this news so significant for die-hard Apple fans is that Samsung could ultimately become the primary OLED panel supplier for the Apple’s 2017 ‘iPhone 7s’. It’s been speculated that Apple will be holding off on the major upgrades and enhancements that many users might be expecting of the ‘iPhone 7’ that’s due out this fall; instead saving them for a vastly overhauled ‘iPhone 7s’ (Or is that the iPhone 8?), which would mark the Apple iPhones 10th generation.
Would you consider buying one of Samsung’s bendable OLED smartphones? Let us know in the comments!