Samsung Foldable Smartphone Teased Ahead of Expected November 7 Launch

Samsung's first foldable smartphone might soon become a reality at the South Korean giant's Samsung Developer Conference (SDC) which kicks off on November 7. The company, however, hasn't been quite secretive about the project and CEO DJ Koh has spoken about the phone at length in previous interviews. With just about a couple of days to go before the event, Samsung Mobile has changed its profile pictures on most social media accounts to hint at the upcoming foldable phone, which has not been officially named yet.

The image, which Samsung is using on its social media accounts, shows off the in-folding mechanism of its upcoming foldable phone. Samsung SVP Pranav Mistry, who is the company's Head of Innnovation, also tweeted the same image. All rumours now point towards two displays on the smartphone, one on the inside and one outside. In fact, a report from last week suggested that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy F series smartphone's main internal display will have a diagonal dimension of 7.29 inches, while the external display will be 4.58 inches. The hinge for seamless opening and closing of the handset will reportedly be made by Korean company KH Vatec.

Other than that, the report also gave us an idea about the production of this premium smartphone. Mass production is expected to begin this month itself, however maximum volume might not be more than 1,00,000 units a month. This is expected to increase next year, considering Samsung is looking to test the market before venturing into deeper waters. A report claims that the phone might not sport a fingerprint sensor due to technical constraints.

The report had also suggested that Samsung is looking to release a 5G-capable smartphone and a cheaper flagship handset by next year. Codenamed “Winner”, Samsung's foldable smartphone has been previously rumoured to sport a price tag well above the flagships of 2018, at a point no less than $1,500 (roughly Rs. 1,10,000) and could be as high as $1,850 (about Rs. 1,35,700).

While this might be the first mainstream offering, a little known Chinese brand called Royole earlier this month released the first-ever foldable smartphone with a single display, called the Flexpai. ZTE also unveiled a foldable phone back in October last year, however the ZTE Axon M had dual full-HD displays.