Infinity Flex: Samsung's flexible smartphone finally unveiled

Samsung's foldable smartphone is fast becoming a reality. The South Korean manufacturer has put an end to the suspense surrounding this longstanding project at the opening of its conference for developers Wednesday, November 7 in San Francisco, California, giving a first glimpse of its Infinity Flex Display technology, a phone equipped with a foldable screen the size of a tablet capable of holding in the pocket, as in the best sci-fi movies.

Revealed four years ago in the spotlight of a commercial and regularly evoked by the directors of the company in recent months, Samsung foldable smartphone has not been revealed in full. The brand has simply shared the outline of this new smartphone with developers application to allow them to imagine experiments adapted to this radically different design articulated around two screens.

Samsung has a lot of hope in the Infinity Flex Display technology. At a time when the best smartphones on the market are generally content to improve the previous models, the brand hopes that the foldable phone will upset a stagnant industry. It will have to prove that it is more than a gadget and convince users of the interest of such a design compared to a conventional smartphone.

"The new age of the smartphone"

With its Infinity Display, Samsung intends to offer a different experience than that offered by a smartphone or tablet, a compromise between the widescreen experience demanded by consumers and portability. "How can we enlarge the size of the screen without increasing the size of the device himself? "asked a Samsung executive on stage.

"The Infinity Flex screen is a brand new platform to browse the web, watch videos, connect and multitasking like never before. Infinity Flex Display lays the foundation for the smartphone of tomorrow, "promises the company.

This new device comes in the form ofa 7.3-inch tablet, when unfolded, and under that of a small phone particularly thick once folded on itself. It displays borders and thicknesses that are out of proportion with the standards of the moment high-end telephony.

No revolutionary use

Samsung did not really answer questions about new uses offered by this device format. Once the large screen is unfolded, applications are displayed in a larger format. Up to three applications can operate at the same time in a "multi-active window". A small screen stays on when the unit is folded. It will be possible to start a video on the small screen to continue with the screen deployed for a more immersive experience. And that's about all for now.

The model presented tonight is not a final product. Samsung ensures that it will able to begin mbad production of the Infinity Flex display in a few months. The brand is working hand in hand with Google to adapt Android to the new possibilities offered by this type of device for launch in 2019. Google has started to provide instructions for application developers to support their applications. this new format.

Like Samsung, LG and Huawei have also posted their ambitions in the design of foldable smartphones. These projects have long remained a dead letter due to significant technological barriers. If brands are able to produce flexible screens, it is not the same for the components necessary for the operation of a smartphone, whose rigidity is an even more complex challenge for engineers.

Unknown to the general public, the brand Royole Technology grilled politeness to the industry giants by launching last week a first smartphone with a foldable screen. But the Chinese company has not really convinced observers about the user experience offered by its terminal.

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