Samsung Shows Off Prototype Smartphone With Foldable Display

[7thson]

They’re showing it now so that people don’t commit to new iPhones.

All the people seeing this are going to think twice before buying an iPad or iPhone.

If Samsung waited a few months to unveil it, many of the customers they’re targetting will have already bought new Apple devices and stick with them for the next year or five.

They're showing it now so the developer community can respond and let Samsung know that the end result won't/will be DOA. There are absolutely no guarantees/promises that a finished product will be released in 2019. Samsung isn't going to release a smartphone that developers won't embrace. A Tizen watch? Sure. A smartphone. No. They need community buy in. No one will buy a smartphone that doesn't have apps to support it. FWIW, it sounds like Google is in, which isn't insignificant.

 

[johannnn]

The phone version looked like something from 2010. Not impressed at all.

 

[Abazigal]

Nope. It happened because the technology was developed to make it happen. Apple used it and so did other companies.

On the contrary, other companies did it because Apple mainstreamed the notch. Apple is essentially a lifestyle brand, and you have a scenario where the brand power of Apple is so strong that other companies were willing to to give up their own brand identity and ride on Apple’s popularity.

Copycats aren’t just using iPhone X design cues, such as the notch, because they know the market has embraced certain features. If that were the case, these companies should be mixing Apple design cues with their own branded elements. (The reason Xiaomi and Motorola end up having a chin at the bottom of their devices is likely due to not being able to recreate the iPhone X’s curved display.)

Instead, these companies are willing to completely forgo their own brand equity to piggyback off Apple’s brand. The motive is clear: These companies want their consumers to think they are getting a version of the iPhone experience. In many cases, those phones were priced at a fraction of iPhone X.

Notice how Xiaomi, Motorola, heck, even Huawei went so far as to include smartphone wallpaper nearly identical to that of iPhone X in their marketing material.

These companies aren’t just copying a phone. Instead, they are copying a lifestyle brand. They are basically saying “You can also get the Apple experience by buying our products”.

Nobody cares that Essential did it first.

 

[Caspavio]

people complain that samsung innovates and apple copies. erm in the case of screen, apple uses samsung screens, so until samsung or any other manufacturer can produce foldable screen big time, apple cant use it. it is the same with the modem or laptop processor isnt it? they are leaving the innovation to intel and limited by them.

furthermore, it is also subjective if you think it's better to have cutting edge technology with quirks to work out or to wait for the technology to slightly mature so you understand better and can deliver better experience. im not defending apple, but this is their mo, so there is no point criticising that they arent innovative. their innovation isnt the latest and greatest tech, but rather superior product and experience, which i have to somewhat agree isnt necessary always the case anymore.

personally, while i appreciate being able to have a larger screen in a smaller footprint, i also have some doubts about the foldable screen at the moment. mainly because there would be trade off between battery life and weight & size. until battery technology improves, i expect that the new device will be bulkier and heavier, and the current phone sizes and weight are already more than what i would like. and dont forget recent reports that battery life isnt keeping up with smartphone tech, so this concern is quite real.

 

[doboy]

I’m looking forward to it once technology matures a bit.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

This is innovation that far exceeds the notch. Apple will adopt this in 2022-24 when Samsung minimized all the risks and people embrace the phone/tablet feature/function.

MR forum members will hate on this until Apple introduces something similar 4-6 years from now, and claim innovation 🙄
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Phone/Tablet combination is rather appealing, couple that with USB-C and this can dock to accessories. One device to rule the business persons carry-on technology. Apple users will be carrying around their iPhone, iPad and/or MB/A/P with them.

Yeah I remember comments like yours back when the Note 4 edge came out with the curved edge display. Apple never adopted it and it never caught on. It was pretty cool tech but way too impractical with the visual distortion and ergonomic nightmare. We’ll see in a few years if this is the same.

 

[code-m]

You have a comment on almost every page of this thread... May want to look in the mirror before telling others to get a life...

Do you have a problem with me having a comment on almost every page. If not, what is your point.

 

[SigEp265]

I might just ditch iMessage for this! lol

 

[coolfactor]

It's time to deliver, that was Samsung's tagline. And what exactly did they deliver? A device that looked like a box which seems to be foldable. Seen that before. I'm not at all impressed, it's more CGI together with some theatrical sounding orchestra playing in the background in this commercial and some people stating that this is all revolutionary.

I'll be impressed when I actually do see a working device of an ultra-lightweight smartphone that's actually foldable and works.

Did you watch the video? They showed the device.

 

[drumcat]

Touch screens didn’t make a lot of sense when the phones were equipped with a keyboard, look how tables have turned. Future thinking is incredible isn’t it?

That makes no sense. Touch screens *were* useful, obviously... but the touch targets were too small for fingers generally. That's why all the stylus inclusions. Terrible analogy.

 

[Kabeyun]

1:26:41 “At Samsung when we say ‘reimagine’ we mean actually designing something new.”

I actually laughed out loud. Looks like there’s a first time for everything! Funnier still because the only thing that teaser video really shows is an “Arriving soon” chat grab that looks stolen from an iMessage. Lmao!

Thick phone converts to a too-small-to-be-a-tablet thingy. Interesting tech, but pass. Samsung is obviously going all-in with this, so from their end this had better be the future of mobile tech. I predict it won’t.

 

[alien3dx]

well, i think you're wrong.🙄

hehe.. not.If you see the video samsung, they copy the rule of one thumb . 😀 . I can mention here like before inconsistent ux, but don't want to.. Just focus on one thumb length rule.

 

[Tech198]

Good technology, but isn't that the same as saying 'opening a cover of a book, and getting excited?

It's usable, as a tablet, but its a mini.

 

[JtheLemur]

You have a comment on almost every page of this thread... May want to look in the mirror before telling others to get a life...

This is, quite literally, the dude’s entire life. Don’t take that away from him. Sitting there with his Google Glasses, the last remaining instance of Wave, a CueCat, that LG phone designed like a makeup compact, that other phone where the back was an eInk display... no no, you see, *this* Samsung foldable concept phone thing will set the world on fire, surely! This time is the charm - better watch out $AAPL

 

[farewelwilliams]

hehe.. not.If you see the video samsung, they copy the rule of one thumb . 😀 . I can mention here like before inconsistent ux, but don't want to.. Just focus on one thumb length rule.

not sure if i understand your point but ok.

 

[raybob]

Skip to 1:23:40

 

[code-m]

I never said the dial was new, infact Apple named the dial the "digital crown" because the traditional watches used analog crowns. A crown solved a UX issue much like the touchscreens solved the input issue of cell phones.

My point is that Samsung doesn't put UX as number one priority, they put profits as their #1 priority. Since there weren't many smart watches available at that time, they released 5 different smartwatches in a span of 400 days to see what sticks. They don't take the time to figure out what they think is good for the user, just as long as the user buys it. Once the Apple Watch was released, you could see that Samsung slowed down and only released 1-2 smartwatches every 365 days.

Apple puts UX as their number one priority. Once they figure out the UX, they figure out how much to charge the customer for maximum profits. If they don't think they can contribute something to the UX, they wouldn't release the product just for the sake of money.

Microsoft never got into the hardware developing and releasing segment for years, however here we are, and same with Google. People change, companies evolve. No one is taking sides, we all agree that Apple does does excellent UX/UI, however that does not mean their have not made mistake, the point is that their learn from them. The same with Samsung, their make great hardware, their software needs works a lot of it, however their were more of a hardware company vice software. Apple being both. Microsoft and Android are software company, when comparing their hardware to Samsung there is no competition.

Samsung being an appliance company has their hands in a lot of pies, Apple focus these days is mainly mobile and computers is an after thought. Apple’s focus is narrow and there is nothing wrong with that. I remember an interview in the late 90’s where the CEO of Samsung basically said, we want to be a well known company that makes everything in a consumers house in 5-10 years and their will sell at a loss to reach that goal, similar to Amazon. I believe it is safe to say their have accomplished that goal. Their also want to have the best most innovative tech to be recognize as leaders from Korea worldwide to bring this tech at an affordable price. Well affordable price means their seem to have made cuts in the software department. However many developing countries have access to smartphones due in part from companies such as Samsung. Why should a select few be privileged when it comes to smartphones, LTE, internet, etc. Just because someone prefers to drive a BMW does not mean Kia should not manufacturer vehicles for people who would like the experience of vehicle ownership, many people view this as a stepping stone out of poverty.

 

[Tech198]

1:26:41 “At Samsung when we say ‘reimagine’ we mean actually designing something new.”

I actually laughed out loud. Looks like there’s a first time for everything! Funnier still because the only thing that teaser video really shows is an “Arriving soon” chat grab that looks stolen from an iMessage. Lmao!

Would you rather wait and till it's ready, which would be perhaps 6 to 12 months ? They're trying to impress...

Apple's done exactly the same anyway... so Samsung is not unique in this.

 

[Kabeyun]

Would you rather wait and till it's ready, which would be perhaps 6 to 12 months ? They're trying to impress...

Apple's done exactly the same anyway... so Samsung is not unique in this.

Apple has gone on a stage to sort of show part of a product they’re still working on? Which one?

 

[gavroche]

It will be useless for them now and when Apple "invents" it, then it will finally make sense 🙄

If you are going to make a baseless dig like that, at least realize or acknowledge that other companies are beating Samsung to market. They obviously aren't the only company "innovating" with that. I'd even guarantee Apple has a team playing around with something somewhere.

https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/...l-phone-folding-screen-beating-samsung-punch/

 

[Baymowe335]

The bone crushing, world dominating tech Samsung just put on display today, says otherwise. But keep feeling proud of over paying for inferior products with a fruit logo. Smh.

You mean the bone crushing results that have Apple as the most profitable and valuable company in the role. How do we measure domination? By Samsung showing a thick brick masked in shadows and running Android spyware? Lol!

$60B in profits my friend and it’s all finished consumer products and services. Look up how much some other companies make to get some sense of how insane Apple’s dominance really is.

I’ll start you off:

Most recent 12 months Net Income:

Apple:$60B
Google: $22B
Amazon: $8B
Berkshire Hathaway: $27B
Microsoft $17B
Facebook: $19B
Samsung Mobile: $8B

Domination.

Samsung is a great manufacturing company, but their dominance is not in mobile consumer tech. Apple crushes them. Samsung makes their money on chip sales, memory, components for smartphones, and some in their mobile division I mentioned above.

 

[code-m]

Yeah I remember comments like yours back when the Note 4 edge came out with the curved edge display. Apple never adopted it and it never caught on. It was pretty cool tech but way too impractical with the visual distortion and ergonomic nightmare. We’ll see in a few years if this is the same.

Let’s face it, the mobile phone display market has hit a wall. Where do we go from bezeless displays? This expands the segment by merging the phone and tablet market. Samsung already has DEX, now you can have a 3-in-1 device.

Imagine if Apple introduced an iPhone/iPad/ARM Mac is one package. If the capability is possible, why have three separate devices to carry around. Think of the simplicity for software developers, accessory manufacturers, Apple coding a single version OS, etc. It trims a lot of necessary duplicative hardware and software. I think its a good thing, maybe this will bring annual updates to the Mac if it was all part of the same OS/hardware cycle.

 

[JosephAW]

Folding is nice but Apple needs to make one that one pulls and it expands/scrolls out to a full iPad size from a X iPhone size.

 

[Baymowe335]

Sure the recent smartphones definetely look like the original iPhone 🙄
The Note has all the greatest hardware + useful software features in one package, including a Pen which most premium phones lack. No other Android comes close with what Samsung is offering nowadays.

Why doesn’t it sell better?

 

[Tech198]

Apple has gone on a stage to sort of show part of a product they’re still working on? Which one?

But its not ready, that was my point...

"sort of working" still does not mean its almost ready... The charging mat Apple brifly shown at WWDC for one... They never said a date, but they too showed it, yet here we are, and its not out yet..