The recently announced Galaxy Fold is the first folding smartphone from a large manufacturer, but Samsung would not rest on its laurels. The company has two folding machines in development with other designs.
More foldable Samsung smartphones in development
Samsung hopes to outwit Apple and other competitors by leading the way with foldable smartphones and therefore has several models under development. Bloomberg reports this on the basis of various sources. For example, there is also a clamshell model under development, similar to old folding wheels. In addition, Samsung is working on a model in which the screen is on the outside, similar to the Huawei Mate X.
The clamshell device consists of two halves that you have to fold open. Samsung is still experimenting with various prototypes and is considering an extra screen on the outside as well as on the Galaxy Fold. Depending on how that device suits consumers, Samsung is going to refine the design. The plan is to release this variant at the end of this year or the beginning of 2020.
In addition, the company has several prototypes for a variant where the screen is on the outside. The development of that device started at the same time with the Galaxy Fold. Originally this model would be brought out as the first foldable Samsung.
Now the Huawei Mate X has the scoop with this design. According to the sources, this Samsung variant probably only appears in the course of 2020. This suggests that the manufacturer is not yet satisfied with this design and needs a lot of extra development time.
‘Galaxy Fold screen should be better’
Although the Galaxy Fold is already in stores from the end of April, Samsung would still be busy improving the screen technology. According to the source, there is now a visible fold in the screen after you fold the Galaxy Fold open about 10,000 times. That sounds a lot, but if you open the device a hundred times a day, you will see that fold after just over three months.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold will also be available in the Netherlands from this spring. A Dutch recommended price for the smartphone is still unknown but is probably around 2000 euros. The regular Samsung Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10 Plus, and Galaxy S10e are available from next Friday in the Netherlands, with a suggested retail price starting at 749 euros.