Remember when flip phones were all the rage? Admit it, you owned (and loved) Motorola's original Razr back in the day. We have collectively move on to bigger and better things, of course, though smartphone makers are still tinkering around with unique form factors. As it pertains to that,
Samsung is said to be developing a new handset with a
foldable screen.
Some have referred to its as the
Galaxy X, so we will as well. People who are supposedly familiar with Samsung's plans told
The Wall Street Journal that the device, codenamed "Winner" (we like Galaxy X better), sports a screen that measures around 7 inches diagonally. They say it's about the size of a tablet like the
iPad Mini.
The screen is designed to fold in half, similar to a wallet. We presume Samsung doesn't intend for people to stick the Galaxy X in their back pocket and then sit on it, as it probably will not be as durable as an actual wallet. However, it should fit nicely in a side pocket, or shirt pocket if that's how you roll. Just jam it in there next to your pocket protector.
When folded, it's said to have a small display bar on the exterior, on the front of the phone. We presume this would give owners a quick view of the date, time, and notifications. When opened, the handset would be one big screen, basically. The idea seems to be that users want a tablet-like handset that can fit in their pocket, and a foldable form factor would deliver that.
For Samsung, a foldable phone could give the company's bottom line a jolt, depending on how it's received. The company recently
posted its earnings guidance for the second quarter of 2018, and the numbers did not excite investors.
Samsung's Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are struggling to maintain strong sales momentum amid increased competition in the marketplace.
That said, the Galaxy X would be a limited release. Going that route would both prevent Samsung from being stuck with a bunch of unsold stock, and maybe create some added demand due to its limited edition nature.
It's not clear when the Galaxy X might release.