Leaked Renders Allegedly Reveal Samsung's Foldable Phone Hours Ahead of Launch Event

[cmaier]

Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. That redefines what it technology is and what human beings can achieve. We’ve seen it. Windows. Metro. Android. Samsung. They push the boundaries and create whole ones. Marko Ahtisaari. Matias Duarte. Bill Gates. Sergey Brin. Larry Page. Andy Rubin. Lee Kun-hee. They all deserve a special page in the book of human history.

This foldable device will mark a giant shift in man-machine interface. They will make history. They will rewrite the book. They will change the game. Samsung makes the rules now. This is the Model T to Apple’s iHorse. Watch.

You are entitled to that opinion. I predict this will sell poorly because it isn't clear what need this solves for most people, and samsung, in typical samsung fashion, has provided a solution in search of a problem to solve.

Someday foldable devices will catch on, but not until someone comes up with a compelling reason why they are more useful than non-folding screens.

 

[StellarVixen]

Nice, looks nice indeed. I would remotely consider it, if it wasn't on Android. Too bad Samsung is blackmailed by Google to keep Android on their phones. I was hoping for years that Samsung will come up with their own OS, but nope.

 

[truthertech]

... because Samsung created this first and did most of the heavy lifting on developing the tech?

That may be true, but you have no way of knowing if Apple has done more in terms of money, time and effort to develop the tech. We know only that they are doing R and D and have patents. Who pushes a product out first is not the best indicator.

 

[one more]

Apple supplier LG Display is said to have created a dedicated task force to start developing a foldable OLED display for a future iPhone, while its sister company LG Innotek reportedly has a team developing a rigid flexible printed circuit board or (RFPCB) to go along with it.

A role reversal period, lol? So now Apple will be copying Samsung, infringing on their patent(s) and going through the whole legal settlement show?

 

[richman555]

Not sure about toting the weight of such a device. Also afraid of how much it might cost.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Nice, looks nice indeed. I would remotely consider it, if it wasn't on Android. Too bad Samsung is blackmailed by Google to keep Android on their phones. I was hoping for years that Samsung will come up with their own OS, but nope.

They have their own OS- Tizen. They wanted to break away from Google a few years ago but Googled reigned them in and they stayed.

 

[BigBoy2018]

It’s not the tech, it’s the implementation.

If and when Apple uses folding screen tech, you know it will be more refined.

It’s ultimately about the experience found with the device, and not the initial buzz from the media, that will determine its trajectory. And the experience ultimately lies in a company’s ability to integrate both hardware and software together, not just about pure hardware specs in a vacuum.

You're second paragraph is correct, but your assumption in the first sentence that Apple will always do it better remains to be seen.
[doublepost=1550682403][/doublepost]

Funny that most companies are in the frontier of innovation (even if it’s still useless) while Apple is struggling to make a proper keyboard on the MacBooks and yet have the balls to ask $2000...

It’s our fault, it’s my personal mistake by blindly purchasing overpriced junk from this company.

View attachment 822679

funniest apple gif I've seen in a while.

 

[StellarVixen]

They have their own OS- Tizen. They wanted to break away from Google a few years ago but Googled reigned them in and they stayed.

I know know what happened in detail, thanks.

 

[Exile714]

Larger screen, but it folds so it can more easily fit in your pocket. THAT is the use case.

But the fold can't be flat, so the phone will be thick inside your pocket. THAT is the inherent limitation.

The variable is durability, and that won't become apparent for a few months. They need to have 1) a super strong hinge so that when it is compressed inside a pocket it doesn't break from stress. 2) a screen that can withstand thousands of folds over the lifetime of the phone. 3) A foldable replacement for glass on top of the screen that doesn't scratch easily, including at the singular point where the two halves of the screen meet.

Good luck to everyone who wants to buy these! Personally I'd pass, but that doesn't mean you can't get excited about it.

 

[JLD94]

I wonder how well this type of phone will end up doing. Personally everyone could have a version of this and I still don't think I would be interested in one. What is the thought behind this type of phone? Will it eventually replace a tablet for people that use it? Honest questions....just curious since I personally don't see the appeal

 

[cmaier]

Larger screen, but it folds so it can more easily fit in your pocket. THAT is the use case.

But the fold can't be flat, so the phone will be thick inside your pocket. THAT is the inherent limitation.

The variable is durability, and that won't become apparent for a few months. They need to have 1) a super strong hinge so that when it is compressed inside a pocket it doesn't break from stress. 2) a screen that can withstand thousands of folds over the lifetime of the phone. 3) A foldable replacement for glass on top of the screen that doesn't scratch easily, including at the singular point where the two halves of the screen meet.

Good luck to everyone who wants to buy these! Personally I'd pass, but that doesn't mean you can't get excited about it.

Exactly. But if we step back and analyze the problem to be solved, is folding the best answer? "I want more screen real estate but in a device where the footprint can be small when I am not using it." Ok. Folding is one solution. Another is what apple is rumored to be working on. Put on a pair of glasses, using your iPhone as the CPU, and suddenly your screen is as big as your field of view - much bigger than any foldable device can provide. You don't have the problems you refer to, and the tradeoff is now that you have to put a thing on your face. Though this is something that millions of people do anyway, so perhaps it's not much of a problem. Another tradeoff is that you can't directly interact with it the way you can with a screen device. So everything has its pluses and minuses.

 

[Rafterman]

Curious to see it in action, but personally I have no desire to own a foldable phone from any manufacturer

I initially said that about iPad too. "I have no desire to own a large iPhone".

I'm on my 7th iPad model now.

 

[adamski23]

The thing is with Apple they are not gimmicky like the competition. All the goofy stuff Samsung has released such as putting up phones next to each other to send music and pics.

Apple uses this gimmicky feature to transfer data from old phone to set up a new phone. Do you still find it gimmicky?

My apologies, I was misinformed. It appears that samsung used nfc and not bluetooth.

 

[ROGmaster]

Apple’s been researching foldables for years. And they’re perfectly fine with letting Royole launch the world’s first foldable phone. And if Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi and whoever else wants to launch one too, Apple’s fine with that.

When will the Apple-hate crowd realize that Apple simply could not care less what other companies choose to release, and when?

LoL you are saying that like it's simply a choice thing and Apple could launch a foldable phone this year if they wanted to.
If you read carefully the article, it does state that apple is supposedly waiting for other companies to create a foldable screen for them.
Apple simply looks like it's behind and it's pointless to sugarcoat it.

Apple supplier LG Display is said to have created a dedicated task force to start developing a foldable OLED display for a future iPhone, while its sister company LG Innotek reportedly has a team developing a rigid flexible printed circuit board or (RFPCB) to go along with it.

 

[I7guy]

Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything. That redefines what it technology is and what human beings can achieve. We’ve seen it. Windows. Metro. Android. Samsung. They push the boundaries and create whole ones. Marko Ahtisaari. Matias Duarte. Bill Gates. Sergey Brin. Larry Page. Andy Rubin. Lee Kun-hee. They all deserve a special page in the book of human history.

This foldable device will mark a giant shift in man-machine interface. They will make history. They will rewrite the book. They will change the game. Samsung makes the rules now. This is the Model T to Apple’s iHorse. Watch.

Or this will not occur as one thinks. It could be another variation on a theme. Nobody really know as this tech has been out before Samsung introduced it.

 

[trillionaire]

Others are mentioning that they have no ‘desire’ for something like this, but they haven’t experienced a foldable design yet?...Just maybe this would change their mind with something new and innovative that may offer a totally new perspective. I for one could see myself wanting a foldable device for having the ability to enlarge the device and then reduce it pending my usage. Good for Samsung.

This is an Apple-centric forum so a bit of that is to be expected. I prefer to keep an open mind. Brand loyalty is one thing, but a good product is a good product nonetheless. I'll wait until it launches to see what the capabilities and functionality are and then see if it's something I would be interested in.

 

[Radon87000]

Samsung is now the pioneer innovator of the smartphone industry. Can't wait until Apple copies this a few years later and slaps on a $2000 price tag.

 

[myrtlebee]

I dismissed this concept at first, but it actually looks quite interesting. You can’t deny this is true innovation. Let’s see how it plays out.

 

[paul4339]

Samsung has been demoing bendable displays at CES since to 2011 (at least).. and each year they've been refining, creating foldable screens 2014.

They have also been trying to find buyers such as Apple to adopt bendable displays and foldable screen.

The problem is to find a good purpose for a foldable device... And if you do find a compelling, great purpose for it, and creating software and an ecosystem that uses it.

What's the point of releasing something, if there's no software (OS), standards, apps that makes use of it? This often requires a long term commitment, not just an intention.

Apple for example, has been struggling for years to make iPad only apps relevant, as oppose to just rushing to release a big iPod 'tablet' and reusing iPhone apps.

 

[cmaier]

Samsung is now the pioneer innovator of the smartphone industry. Can't wait until Apple copies this a few years later and slaps on a $2000 price tag.

Technology without purpose, and which disrupts nothing, is not innovation.

 

[jamesrick80]

The device looks gorgeous...if it was a Apple device...the isheep here would be exploding discussing how this is the greatest innovation in a while in the mobile industry............u guys would treat it like you treated the first 5 iPhones like their was nothing else in the world you would consider except for buying this product.

 

[cmaier]

The device looks gorgeous...if it was a Apple device...the isheep here would be exploding discussing how this is the greatest innovation in a while in the mobile industry............u guys would treat it like you treated the first 5 iPhones like their was nothing else in the world you would consider except for buying this product.

The fact that you use the term “iSheep” renders your entire post worthless. How about explaining what is so great about a phone that folds so you cant see the screen and creates a huge bulge in your pocket instead of name-calling and making vacuous claims about hypotheticals?

 

[jamesrick80]

The fact that you use the term “iSheep” renders your entire post worthless. How about explaining what is so great about a phone that folds so you cant see the screen and creates a huge bulge in your pocket instead of name-calling and making vacuous claims about hypotheticals?

And you guys never explained what was so great about those first iphones I mentioned.............as long as they slapped iOS on it...you all were enthralled. Watch the show in another hour to get your explanation...

 

[BMcCoy]

I've not watched a Samsung keynote before..

Are they worth watching?

I assume they've copied Apple's keynote style too, so big stage, well rehearsed speakers, and modern image-based presentation slides, with several videos?

 

[Radon87000]

Technology without purpose, and which disrupts nothing, is not innovation.

Its a disruptor. You get to carry a tablet in your pocket. If this turns out a success, its curtains for Apple's iPad.