Samsung Leaks Confirm Galaxy X 'Folding Phone'
Samsung is not being subtle about it. The Galaxy X ‘Folding Phone’ will be its most radical smartphone yet and no less than three confirmations mean Samsung is confident it can drag eyes away from Apple’s similarly named (and eye wateringly expensive) iPhone X...
Koh Dong-jin, Samsung’s president of mobile, has already got the ball rolling. Earlier this month he told Bloomberg the company’s fabled ‘Folding Phone’ was indeed real and “for sure we will launch the product” pinpointing 2018.
SamsungGalaxy Folding Phone concept
But Koh Dong-jin was being coy because the Galaxy X timing is less vague than that. It has already passed Bluetooth certification and subsequently radio certification, the steps new smartphones take before they go on sale. Furthermore the Galaxy X release date now looks primed to beat the Galaxy S9.
Why would Samsung risk disrupting its most important smartphone release of the year? Because the Galaxy X has the potential to make the innovations of the iPhone X look quaint.
Whereas Apple’s headline act was its “bezel-less” display, the reality is Samsung has already been there and done that. Thanks to its notch, the incoming iPhone X has a screen-to-body ratio of 82.9% while the Galaxy S8 (83.6%) and Galaxy S8 Plus (84%) already beat that in March. Face ID may be a step ahead of Samsung’s erratic facial recognition, but the Galaxies also had Iris recognition plus the iPhone X’s selling points of OLED, a glass back, fast wired charging (not optional), wireless charging (also fast) and class leading cameras.
The Galaxy X isn’t looking to advance the battle the iPhone X is having with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, it’s looking to play a whole new game.
SamsungGalaxy Folding Phone concept
You see while ‘bezel-less’ and OLED are new to Apple, the Galaxy X takes a bezel-less OLED design and makes it fold. It’s a phone which can half in size when you aren’t using it. And while Apple often talks about the time it has spent perfecting a particular technology before bringing it to market (Apple bought PrimeSense - the company behind Face ID in 2013), Samsung showed off its first foldable OLED display at CES 2009.
The Galaxy X is not about improving upon existing smartphones, it’s about completely changing how we imagine and use them. Of course there are many caveats to Samsung achieving this. Price, scale and availability are just three and they only become factors if the Galaxy X dazzles like Samsung expects.
And yet there remains good reason for Samsung to be breaking its usual pattern and talking about the Galaxy X before it launches. This is a phone it expects to send shockwaves through the smartphone industry, to do that it has to begin talking loudly now…
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">Samsung is not being subtle about it. The Galaxy X ‘Folding Phone’ will be its most radical smartphone yet and no less than three confirmations mean Samsung is confident it can drag eyes away from Apple’s similarly named (and eye wateringly expensive) iPhone X...
Koh Dong-jin, Samsung’s president of mobile, has already got the ball rolling. Earlier this month he told Bloomberg the company’s fabled ‘Folding Phone’ was indeed real and “for sure we will launch the product” pinpointing 2018.
SamsungGalaxy Folding Phone concept
But Koh Dong-jin was being coy because the Galaxy X timing is less vague than that. It has already passed Bluetooth certification and subsequently radio certification, the steps new smartphones take before they go on sale. Furthermore the Galaxy X release date now looks primed to beat the Galaxy S9.
Why would Samsung risk disrupting its most important smartphone release of the year? Because the Galaxy X has the potential to make the innovations of the iPhone X look quaint.
Whereas Apple’s headline act was its “bezel-less” display, the reality is Samsung has already been there and done that. Thanks to its notch, the incoming iPhone X has a screen-to-body ratio of 82.9% while the Galaxy S8 (83.6%) and Galaxy S8 Plus (84%) already beat that in March. Face ID may be a step ahead of Samsung’s erratic facial recognition, but the Galaxies also had Iris recognition plus the iPhone X’s selling points of OLED, a glass back, fast wired charging (not optional), wireless charging (also fast) and class leading cameras.
The Galaxy X isn’t looking to advance the battle the iPhone X is having with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, it’s looking to play a whole new game.
SamsungGalaxy Folding Phone concept
You see while ‘bezel-less’ and OLED are new to Apple, the Galaxy X takes a bezel-less OLED design and makes it fold. It’s a phone which can half in size when you aren’t using it. And while Apple often talks about the time it has spent perfecting a particular technology before bringing it to market (Apple bought PrimeSense - the company behind Face ID in 2013), Samsung showed off its first foldable OLED display at CES 2009.
The Galaxy X is not about improving upon existing smartphones, it’s about completely changing how we imagine and use them. Of course there are many caveats to Samsung achieving this. Price, scale and availability are just three and they only become factors if the Galaxy X dazzles like Samsung expects.
And yet there remains good reason for Samsung to be breaking its usual pattern and talking about the Galaxy X before it launches. This is a phone it expects to send shockwaves through the smartphone industry, to do that it has to begin talking loudly now…
___
Follow Gordon on Twitter, Facebook and Google+
More On Forbes
Apple’s New iPhones Have Nasty Surprises
Galaxy Note 8 Vs Galaxy S8: What’s The Difference?
Galaxy Note 8 Vs Galaxy S8 Plus: What’s The Difference?
iPhone X Vs iPhone 8: What's The Difference?
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