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From Samsung Acolyte Bixby can get top billing at the electronics giant annual conference of developers on Wednesday but its first foldable phone, supposedly called the Galaxy F, is about to steal Bixby's thunder. If anything, Samsung is baiting expectations that the foldable phone will make an appearance, even changing his logo for imitate the form from a folding phone. But do not expect a traditional ad like big business Galaxy S9 and Note 9 unveilings. Instead, get ready to take a look at the phone. Samsung hopes this will be his next big deal.
For Samsung, the unveiling of its foldable phone comes at a time when the mobile world is craving innovation. Apple and Samsung sales slow down low, and it is said that the global handset market is "in recession". The foldable phones would launch the wow factor in this stall space, where even this year's star, from the Galaxy S9 to iPhone XS, varies only gradually from the best models of 2017. Although a radical new design would upset the industry in decline, it also raises questions about its usefulness and the ease with which it could stumble.
Samsung is not the only one looking for a foldable phone. LG and Huawei develop their own prototypes and a brand, Royole, has already developed the all-plastic FlexPai, which folds similarly.
"Maybe when we start selling the foldable phone, it may be a niche market, but certainly it will grow." DJ Koh, head of Samsung mobiles, told CNET in an interview of October. "I am convinced that we need a foldable phone."
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"Need" is a strong word for any new category of devices, but phoneme designers and experts agree on one key benefit: more screen space. A foldable phone essentially doubles your available area.
It could look like two phones connected by a central hinge or a shelf held in landscape mode that folds like a book. Performed correctly, you get a screen the size of a tablet that you can carry as a big and thick handset.
The design generates new ways to use the phone. You can unfold it to play games and watch videos on a larger canvas. Or, you can divide the hemispheres of the screen into several panes for better multitasking.
For example, one screen may become a virtual keyboard, while the other forms a composition window. Or, you can play the content on both screens and watch the same video clip of a friend at the other end of the table. And a phone that folds up can stand while you watch movies, without having to use them. Like the first attempts at dual screen phones, the Holy Grail of a larger screen area promises a rich possibility.
There is no doubt that the presence of a foldable screen in the hand of a leader – I put my money on Koh – will raise more questions than answers. Is it comfortable and convenient to use, or just a gadget? Will it be accessible remotely? What will prevent it from igniting like the "foldable" ZTE Axon M?
Assuming that Samsung reveals the foldable phone long awaited, do not expect to have more than a glimpse and some vague details. The Galaxy F, apparently with a code name Winner, should not land until early 2019.
Samsung will probably use this event to launch developers and phone fans. After all, it's still a developer conference and Samsung's main goal will be to convince app writers to make their programs work with a new foldable screen.
"The foldable device is more of a platform than a product release," said Wayne Lam, senior analyst at IHS Markit. "Foldable devices will have a different user experience and interface, and Android is really only developed for a single mobile screen."
The future of phones is it foldable?
While these powerful laptops continue to become the center of people's lives, phone makers are struggling to increase the size of the screen without making the device itself too big and too much heavy to carry in a pocket or purse.
The current trend of reducing the size of screens and increasing the size of the screen is a temporary solution that a foldable phone could potentially replace. But it is easier to say that to make two screens fold back one on the other. A screen capable of bending and bending is one thing – Samsung and LG debuted "curved" screens in 2013 and 2014, respectively – but the phones themselves did not bend.
Making the body of the device foldable is a much bigger challenge: the batteries and components are rigid, and moving the battery on one side can result in an imbalance of the phone. In addition, flexible displays have been used for years, but thin glass may have a tendency to break more easily, especially when it is folded hundreds of thousands of times over the course of a person's life. apparatus.
Royole's FlexPai solves the problem of screen flexibility by using plastic instead of glass to cover the OLED display. Plastic is not a popular material today, especially considering its price (FlexPai developer models start at $ 1,588). Royole placed the battery on the right side and said it balanced the left with the other components. A rubberized hinge controls flexion at the back.
Lily: Samsung mobile CEO: Our foldable phone will be a tablet you can put in your pocket
Despite the design difficulties, creating a flexible phone is a risk that Samsung has to take. As the first major player to show a foldable phone, Samsung could stay on its feet while decline in smartphone sales make the material titan vulnerable to the advance of his rival Huawei. The Galaxy F would also give Samsung a halo, an ambitious product, as Ford Supercar GT or the luxury of Nokia Vertu Phones. Volume sales are not the name of the game here, but capturing the attention is.
"Should the industry switch to foldable mode?" "No, but it's opening up a new category of hybrid devices," said Lam, referring to a category that includes phones and tablets. (Note that the term "phablet" was created in response to the Galaxy Note for the same reason.)
Samsung's challenge is to see that its bold new designs do not turn around and bombard. The company took a risk with the Galaxy Note series, and that ultimately paid off. Despite a difficult start, Note is now a well established and loyal brand, and the design of the giant screen phone it has launched is now the industry standard. However, only in Korea in 2013 Galaxy tower, the world's first curved-screen phone, has been a sales flop, even though it has led to the curved Galaxy phones we take for granted today.
According to rumors, the Galaxy F would have a 7.3-inch screen, a silver finish and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8150 processor. It is said to have 512 GB of internal storage, with support for a microSD card.
"The price of this technology will be very high," Lam said. "It will take years before a consumer version is available at the right price."
At this early stage, it's best to set the Galaxy F, and any foldable first-wave phone, as a stepping stone to a device we may want someday, rather than the one we need now.
Samsung has not responded to a request for comment.
Article published for the first time on November 6 at 4 am and updated on November 7 at 4:30 am with more details.
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