Samsung is looking to the future following the release of the Galaxy S8 smartphone.
With its long-awaited flagship device now officially revealed to the world, the South Korean company is reportedly hard at work on its next new innovation.
This includes rumours of the wrld’s first truly foldable smartphone, the “Galaxy X”, which would be able to tranform from a mobile device into something much bigger.
The device would look much like current smartphones, but open up like a book to reveal a larger, tablet-sized display.
These rumours have now been clarified by Samsung itself – although the answer perhaps isn’t what we’re hoping for.
A leading engineer at Samsung’s dedicated display departments has said that although such a device would be possible, the release may still be some time away.
The Korea Herald quoted Kim Tae-woong, the principal engineer at Samsung Display, as saying that, “”Because the bezel-free display currently sells well, we still have enough time to develop foldable display.”
However Kim added that, the foldable technology is, “expected to be mature around 2019.”
There appear to be several major technical challenges facing the engineers before such a flexible display can be produced, with single-sided foldable screens likely to appear first, with double-sided devices coming later.
Samsung is not the only company reportedly working on a foldable smartphone, as device manufacturers look to provide users with something remarkable.
Last December, it was reported that Google had signed a deal with LG Display to deliver smartphone displays that fold out for a more flexible design than ever.
LG Display has reportedly already developed a working prototype panel, described as having a “significantly high” technical level, meaning that the new design could appear soon.
Apple and Microsoft have also signalled their interest in the “out-foldable” panels, which use OLED technology for super-detailed displays.
Microsoft is also rumoured to be looking at its own approach to flexible displays, with several recent patents revealed that the Windows 10 maker is thinking about such a design.
This could be seen soon in the much-rumoured Microsoft Surface Phone, which could sport a design that would allow the device to fold onto itself using a hinge.
This would then create a display about the size of a typical smartphone, allowing the device to quickly switch between a number of different uses.
That means that you could be watching a film on the main tablet screen, then quickly pause and fold the device into a phone to make a call or reply to a text message.
Daily Express :: Life and Style Feed
