The foldable smartphone race has begun after Samsung and Huawei have introduced their very own foldable devices last month. Between the two, the Huawei Mate X appears to have the upper edge in viewing experience as it offers an obstructive edge to edge screen whether it is folded or unfolded.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the South Korea maker is developing two more foldable smartphone models and one of it is similar to the Mate X.
The current Galaxy Fold uses an in-folding design where it gets a small 4.6″ HD+ display on the cover and a larger 7.3″ Infinity Flex display on the inside. The internal display has a “notch” on the top right corner to house its dual-front-facing cameras. The Galaxy Fold will be on sale in the second quarter of the year with a retail price of US$1,980 which is about RM8,098.
Since it’s too early to determine the most practical foldable form factor, Samsung is said to be working on more foldable models. The first device has a clamshell form factor which could be similar to Motorola’s patented full-screen flip phone design. According to Bloomberg, Samsung is currently using mock-ups to fine-tune the design and this could be a successor to its W series flip-phones for the Chinese market.
The vertical folding device is alleged to be released sometime late of this year or early next year. The device could have an extra screen on the outside but Samsung will decide on this depending on customers’ reaction with the Galaxy Fold.
The next design would be an outward-folding device like the Huawei Mate X. It is reported that Samsung has a working prototype after it was considered to be their first foldable device. Like the Mate X, there’s no extra screen and it’s thinner than the Galaxy Fold.
In the coming months before the Galaxy Fold is sold commercially, Samsung is said to be improving the durability of its Infinity-Flex display. This is to ensure that there’s no noticeable crease on the panel after it’s folded repeatedly for 10,000 times. According to Bloomberg’s source, Samsung is also considering to offer free screen replacements for the Galaxy Fold which can be a good move to address any durability concerns.
We couldn’t get our hands on the Samsung Galaxy Fold as the device was secured behind a glass panel at MWC19. According to Bloomberg’s report, a spokesperson said that the Galaxy Fold was displayed that way because it wanted more attention on the Galaxy S10, and not because there was a problem with the quality of the Galaxy Fold.
However, we were fortunate enough to get a closer look at a pre-production Huawei Mate X which we’re told is close to the final product. The Huawei Mate X is more expensive and it carries a retail price tag of 2,299 Euros which is about RM10,000. You can check out our first impressions and watch our hands-on video below:
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