Three months after the Galaxy Fold was supposed to launch in April, Samsung confirmed on Wednesday that it fixed the phone’s screen problems and will relaunch the device in September with a slightly new look.
But the company isn’t the only the one planning a foldable device. Other phone makers have either announced foldable phones or are rumored to have one in the works. Even despite this rather large blunder from Samsung, the tech industry still has foldable phones on the brain.
Foldable phones are poised to transform the tech industry over the next five years, along with 5G. Any foldable phones we will see this year will just hint at what’s to come, as the devices become thinner, do a better job of managing battery life and let mobile apps take advantage of different display sizes.
And all of this will develop with the help of Google too, as the company has committed to providing Android support for foldable designs. (Given some of its recent patent filings, it may even release a foldable phone of its own.)
True, foldlabe phones are off to a shaky start, and we don’t know yet if Samsung’s relaunch is going to be enough to ease user concerns. But if all 11 companies below follow through with their plans, we are in for an interesting ride. Here are the brands that have announced plans, filed for a patent or are rumored to join the foldable craze.
The phone itself has a secondary 4.6-inch display that serves as its “cover,” with all the usual features you’d expect on a phone. When you’re ready for something bigger, the Fold opens up like a book to a 7.3-inch tablet. The Fold also has six cameras. On the back, there’s the same triple-camera setup as the Galaxy S10 and on the front a single 10-megapixel camera. In tablet form, there are two additional cameras inside: a selfie camera and an 8-megapixel depth camera.
Because of the phone’s novel design, it costs a pretty penny at $1,980 (about £1,500 or AU$2,800). The Fold has what the company calls an Infinity Flex Display, which is a fancy plastic material that can fold. After the reported screen issues, Samsung also reinforced the phone’s design to include things like protection caps for the hinges and additional metal layers.
The Fold may also not be the only foldable phone from Samsung. The company is said to be developing two more foldable phones, according to Bloomberg.
Citing people familiar with the company’s plans, Bloomberg reported that one phone will fold vertically, while the other will fold inward instead of outwardly like the Fold. With this Galaxy Fold snafu, however,, plans may change for Samsung. More
