Samsung teases foldable smartphone launch for later this year

Samsung is planning to launch a foldable smartphone later this year. CNBC reports that Samsung CEO DJ Koh hinted the device could be unveiled at Samsung’s developer conference in November, but it’s not clear if consumers will actually be able to purchase the foldable phone this year. Koh admitted that the mystery device had been “complicated” to develop, and rumors have suggested Samsung will launch a phone with a bendable display under the company’s Galaxy Note line.

Samsung has been experimenting with bendable OLED displays for years, and the company first unveiled a prototype back in 2012. Since then, Samsung has been reportedly testing dual-screen smartphones, with the aim of bringing some type of device to market. Koh doesn’t drop many hints at what to expect from Samsung’s foldable smartphone, but he does admit the device and its features need to make consumers react with “wow, this is the reason Samsung made it.”

Samsung released a concept ad for a potential foldable phone back in 2014. The ad featured a device with a bendable display that folded from a more tablet-like size into a pocketable phone. Samsung’s device may include a 7-inch single display, according to a report earlier this year from The Wall Street Journal. The screen will reportedly fold in half like a wallet, with the exterior of the device displaying a small bar of information.

Samsung isn’t the only company developing foldable devices. Lenovo is working on bendable phones and tablets, and Microsoft has been dreaming of a dual-screen Surface device for years. LG even revealed a foldable 65-inch OLED TV earlier this year.