The Rumors of a Folding Samsung Smartphone are Real – The Phone Itself, Not So Much
The on again, off again rumors of Samsung’s folding smartphone have made their expected semi-annual reappearance.
This time around Samsung’s hometown newspaper, The Korea Herald, is getting in on the act:
Samsung is expected to test its dual-screen smartphone prototype soon, possibly a preliminary version of its upcoming foldable smartphone, dubbed Galaxy X, industry sources said on April 11. The prototype that can be folded open 180 degrees reportedly features a pair of organic light-emitting diode display panels that are connected with a hinge in the middle.
Sources said the Korean tech giant has already placed orders for components to produce about 2,000-3,000 units of the dual-screen phone in the first half of this year. Samsung has been working on the so-called Project Valley that aims to develop the Galaxy X, its first foldable smartphone with a single flexible OLED screen that can be folded outward.
“Samsung seems to be testing the waters with the dual-screen device to gather ideas about its upcoming foldable phone,” an industry source said on condition of anonymity. Samsung and its display-making arm Samsung Display have been speeding up related research and development work to roll out a limited batch of Galaxy X in the latter half of this year.
Sources said the company is still testing the waters for the phone’s mass-market launch.
That’s an interesting rumor, but that’s all it is – a rumor, one which has been circulating for several years now.
When I last covered this rumor in June of last year, I pointed out that if there were any truth to the rumor then Samsung would have confirmed it.
Sure, the original basis for the rumors is screen tech that Samsung has been talking about since at least 2013 and showing off every so often at trade shows, but there is no evidence that Samsung is anywhere close to releasing a real device.
Do you know what I am waiting for?
Leaked photos of a real bendable/foldable smartphone.
If Samsung had such a phone in the pipeline then they would already have started their marketing efforts. This would include leaking the name, specs, and photos.
It is almost SOP now for tech companies to leak their new products in order to generate buzz.
We almost always know what Apple et al are going to launch long before the official announcement, and yet when it comes to this foldable smartphone we have seen nothing in the way of credible product leaks.
Without those leaks there is really no evidence that Samsung is going to release this phone.
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