While other manufacturers are entering the market of foldable smartphones Samsung, which inaugurated this market, is already thinking about the future.
A smartphone that folds in two directions and in three different segments. This is the project that Samsung would be ready to announce by the end of the year, thus adding another element to the proposals represented by Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip, ready to show itself in a new guise during 2021.
To reveal the project on which Samsung is currently working was an article by Nikkei Asia. The smartphone could put the point to the Note series, which this year will not be updated because Samsung S21 can also be used with the stylus, thus going to fill that area next to remain empty and go to develop an area, however, of growing interest. On the side of the South Korean company there is the proven ability to create high quality panels (even Apple knows that it wanted them for its upcoming iPhone 13 Pro and Max). And then there are the patents dedicated to double-lock designs, with the first one registered in 2018 and the last one, in chronological order, ended up in the spotlight only during the late 2020s. Could the next model have drawn from one of these designs, or even just in part, for what will be the company's first two-way foldable?
Samsung, what do we know about the new foldable
According to a report by Nikkei Asia, the format of the new smartphone would still be in the works although, according to experts, the final form ratio could be a standard 16:9 or, even, reach 18:9. The choice, in this way, could prove to be of great help to app developers who would not have to completely rethink the interface of their creations, as happened with the little canonical 25:9 of the Z Fold model.
Whatever the chosen resolution, this is not the first prototype with double folding, in both directions ever. In fact, already Xiaomi had shown a model with double fold joint, although for the final version the choice fell on a simplified version in the style of Galaxy Fold. The same can be said for Huawei's Mate X2, which replicates Samsung's linear folding system.
Samsung and the new foldable, when will it arrive?
Although Nikkei Asia has scheduled Samsung's new foldable for the end of the year, the shortage of circuits that has been affecting the entire industry for about a year is inevitably weighing heavily on its realization. Add to that the completely different form factor, another detail that could weigh on the foldable's projected end date.
For sure, a wide range of foldable smartphones like Samsung's, with three different locking systems, can represent plenty of choice for the public. And with an ever-expanding range of offerings, even lower prices can help in experimenting with the new form factors that manufacturers are poised to bring to market.