Samsung Shows Off Prototype Smartphone With Foldable Display

[code-m]

Before the Apple Watch was released, Samsung released 5 smartwatches, 4 of them were in 2014 alone. All 5 of those watches did not have any dedicated rotating/scrolling controls.

Once Apple Watch was released, Samsung stopped releasing new watches for almost a full year and then released the Samsung Gear S2. They took the form factor of the Moto 360 which everyone loved, and combined it with dedicated scrolling controls (something that Apple correctly solved with users using super small touch screens with their fingers).

This folding screen tech is a classic case of Samsung throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. Samsung starts with what new technology they can come up with, and try to cram it into new products. Apple starts with the UX, figures out what the problem is, and solves it using new technology.

I'm not saying Apple will never use folding screens, but so far, Samsung hasn't really solved any major UX issues with folding screens in that demo.

Every company reinvents and redesigns the exterior and UX/UI of its products to better user experience, borrowing from competitors is not some new concept, however the norm. This is not a Samsung versus Apple situation, this happens in the TV sector as well, company A puts a camera on their TV, company B follows, company C puts a mic in their remote, company A follows. This steers the user experience in a given direction. 3D for example was not well accepted, companies dropped support for it.

A crown dial for manipulating information is nothing new, classic analog watches use it to move the hands, Apple taken that concept and applied it to a digital UX/UI.

 

[inkswamp]

Are you calling the recently released 2018 iPad Pro as revolutionary in comparison to a bendable screen. One is stiff as a board permanently, the other can be manipulated.

One is for sale right now. One... not so much.

 

[zahuh]

You all think a thousand dollar phone is expensive? Hahahahaha wait till Apple makes one of these.

 

[JamieLannister]

Seriously? Did you not notice the 10+ other years before this when they've hyped this technology? No joke. They do it every single year and it has yet to show up in any products. When we get to the point where the guy at Best Buy can pull this out of the display and show it to me, then we'll talk. Until then, it's the longest running vaporware in tech history.

Well Samsung actually makes their displays. You do realize they need to create a foldable display that can actually fold right? Of course you down play all this tech because apple doesn't have anything yet. Just keep buying over priced iPhones in the mean time and let apple trickle feed you "latest tech" year after year. It's vaporware unless apple uses it. Because the universe revolves around apple! Dumb people are the ones who believe this nonsense.
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One is for sale right now. One... not so much.

so what if it's on sale? It's the same old iPad since day 1. It's a large iPhone! Just because it's on sale now don't mean jack dcik. Dumb people will continue to buy overpriced apple products.

 

[code-m]

Every year before the iPhone X, Macrumor regulars like yourself have been complaining about how crappy OLED displays are. When iPhone X has it, then all of a sudden it's the next coming apple god. Trust me, you will see foldable displays hit mainstream.

Same thing goes with wireless charging - how it sucks, blah blah blah, now all I read are comments about how awesome it is. LOL. Really should be called Mac-hypocrites.

Some MR members do not like giving credit where it is due, Apple can do no evil in their eyes. I look at all companies subjectively and applaud them for their innovative ideas and criticize them for their lack of thought. However here you are either an Apple lover or hater, one cannot be neutral, what is this politics People need to get a life, unless their are employees

 

[- rob -]

Right. I like how apple presentations where a fat guy comes out with his shirt un-tucked and says courageous things like removing headphone jacks on devices is the next messiah and the audience roars in applause. When they show an iPhone that is fully IP68 in 2018, audience applauded like they just watched Brad Pitt do the splits. Whenever an apple product plays catch up in some way years behind the industry standards, the audience is so baffled and their minds distorted by the reality distortion field generated they clap so hard and cheer like their favorite football team just won the Super Bowl.

Don't you worry, Samsung probably has this thing ready to be mass produced. Remember, Samsung actually makes products they sell. I'm still holding my breath for that Qi charging pad. Wait, how about a fast wireless charger that is at least 15w? Never mind that charging pad, how about a damn MacBook that I can actually touch screen with?

When you see something like this being sold to apple in 2022, I will come back and quote you about how innovative apple really is.

I'm sure the masking of the device on stage is not to prevent theft by apple - I'm sure they will not copy Samsung but probably buy the same screen tech from them in 2022. Samsung is protecting their IP design from Chinese theft.

Okay, I'll bite.

I thought it was really cool that Samsung put a person in a wheelchair on stage for over 15 minutes to talk about AI. And I think it is cool that company has the courage to put heavily accented people in front of English speaking audiences.

I think there are great things about this presentation. And I think it still had an uncanny valley feel to it where the company was trying to present like Apple but missed the detail that Apple gets right so often.

I don't care how heavy or lightweight the presenters are. And I don't normally care about specific features--especially ones on the very cutting edge. I do care about how well those will be supported by developers and Apple has made some miss steps here like with the touchbar.

But I would never counsel a new college grad or any young developer to look seriously at Samsung's ecosystem as a way to get started with their career. And that actually has very little to do with the lack of detail accounted for in the production of this event.

 

[rp2011]

So stupid.

 

[tjleonard]

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.

Wait, do you just come here to troll? There is no reason to agree with this until it’s used in a real (and attractive) application.

 

[code-m]

One is for sale right now. One... not so much.

Where is AirPower? yeah I though so, get real.

 

[morphineseason]

Cupertino, start your photocopiers!

 

[farewelwilliams]

Every company reinvents and redesigns the exterior and UX/UI of its products to better user experience, borrowing from competitors is not some new concept, however the norm. This is not a Samsung versus Apple situation, this happens in the TV sector as well, company A puts a camera on their TV, company B follows, company C puts a mic in their remote, company A follows. This steers the user experience in a given direction. 3D for example was not well accepted, companies dropped support for it.

A crown dial for manipulating information is nothing new, classic analog watches use it to move the hands, Apple taken that concept and applied it to a digital UX/UI.

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.

 

[Glockworkorange]

Another great category that sets apart innovation just like the Samsung Note series.

I’m too glued in the Apple ecosystem, but if I were an Android fan I’d buy a Note and one of these.

 

[jmoore5196]

I honestly believe this is the first true Samsung innovation I've seen to date.

Finally ... something they didn't copy!

 

[Mars56]

Another win for Samsung (and ultimately Android) while Apple is doing what exactly? Raising prices on crippled devices they won't share sales figures on? LOL

Samsung has been pushing these rumors and foldable devices for years now, with very obvious help of some members on here as well - and now this? The result is somewhat a letdown, so far. imho.

 

[JamieLannister]

Okay, I'll bite.

I thought it was really cool that Samsung put a person in a wheelchair on stage for over 15 minutes to talk about AI. And I think it is cool that company has the courage to put heavily accented people in front of English speaking audiences.

I think there are great things about this presentation. And I think it still had an uncanny valley feel to it where the company was trying to present like Apple but missed the detail that Apple gets right so often.

I don't care how heavy or lightweight the presenters are. And I don't normally care about specific features--especially ones on the very cutting edge. I do care about how well those will be supported by developers and Apple has made some miss steps here like with the touchbar.

But I would never counsel a new college grad or any young developer to look seriously at Samsung's ecosystem as a way to get started with their career. And that actually has very little to do with the lack of detail accounted for in the production of this event.

I'm not trying to fan some flames but who cares about the presentations - I cringe harder when I watch an apple presentation - all they talk about (and they did spend over 10 minutes) talking how green they are, yadda yada, etc,. who the hell cares. I applaud them for following thru but their presentations are also cringe as ****.

The only presenter I do enjoy is Chris Ferg. The dude seems really loose and comfortable and humorous. Tim Cook is as bland as my underwear color. Eddie cue looks like he still wants to sleep with married women. That watch guy who presents I-watch stuff, man can't even remember him except it's so boring I'd rather watch paint dry.

The only other guy I loathe more than Tim Cook is Phil Schiller. The guy is a pure lying sack of shet. Marketing at its finest. Used car salesmen like gimmicks.

anyway, apple presentations can be just as bad. But yes, Samsung presentations are cringe too. But seriously, who cares. Let's just focus on how we are living in the age of tech where we can have a foldable display. So many times I wanted a tablet to be my phone but I have to pull out that stupid iPad.

If apple does make a foldable display device, you can bet you will sell your kidney for one.

 

[827538]

Cool tech but why would I want my phone to do that? Size of a brick and doesn't really do anything extra thats actually useful. The XS is already about the perfect size in my opinion.

 

[alien3dx]

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.

hehe.. i don't think so.. . non steve era

 

[Mars56]

I'm not trying to fan some flames but who cares about the presentations - I cringe harder when I watch an apple presentation - all they talk about (and they did spend over 10 minutes) talking how green they are, yadda yada, etc,. who the hell cares. I applaud them for following thru but their presentations are also cringe as ****.

The only presenter I do enjoy is Chris Ferg. The dude seems really loose and comfortable and humorous. Tim Cook is as bland as my underwear color. Eddie cue looks like he still wants to sleep with married women. That watch guy who presents I-watch stuff, man can't even remember him except it's so boring I'd rather watch paint dry.

The only other guy I loathe more than Tim Cook is Phil Schiller. The guy is a pure lying sack of shet. Marketing at its finest. Used car salesmen like gimmicks.

anyway, apple presentations can be just as bad. But yes, Samsung presentations are cringe too. But seriously, who cares. Let's just focus on how we are living in the age of tech where we can have a foldable display. So many times I wanted a tablet to be my phone but I have to pull out that stupid iPad.

If apple does make a foldable display device, you can bet you will sell your kidney for one.

Well hopefully Samsung ends their hilariously obvious way of pushing tech that they weren't able to produce and finally come up with a product soon. It's bad enough that members here have been celebrating their "foldable devices" like stupid for years now just based on those rumors (for whatever motives our notorious forum members had).

 

[farewelwilliams]

hehe.. i don't think so..

well, i think you're wrong.

 

[bbednarz]

Some MR members do not like giving credit where it is due, Apple can do no evil in their eyes. I look at all companies subjectively and applaud them for their innovative ideas and criticize them for their lack of thought. However here you are either an Apple lover or hater, one cannot be neutral, what is this politics People need to get a life, unless their are employees

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...

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I love the idea… they made a point to lower the lights so all we see is the screen and not the ginormously thick body and bezels. I understand they don't want to reveal the design… but why now? Love the idea, and once the tech can get even better… Apple will create something that is designed better.

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.

 

[falainber]

So you are saying that every other android smartphone now sports a notch because of essential?

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

 

[FightTheFuture]

This is the greatest thing ever. Samsung keeps doing innovative things like curved screens and now folding screens! insane!

I can't wait till Android developers actually start making actual tablet apps instead of stretched out phone apps to take advantage of this folding tablet.

 

[1rottenapple]

At its 2018 Developer Conference, Samsung today showed off its new foldable display technology, called Infinity Flex.

Samsung is using the Infinity Flex technology for a device that features 7.3-inch flexible display that can be folded in half. While in full screen mode, the device is meant to be used as a tablet, and when folded in half, it functions as a smartphone.

Samsung's Infinity Flex demo begins at about one hour and 22 minutes into the developer conference video​

Samsung says that the Infinity Flex display is the "future of mobile display technology" and the foundation for the "smartphone of tomorrow."Samsung says that that to design the Infinity Flex technology, it had to invent new materials and reimagine the display from the ground up. The company developed an advanced composite polymer that's "flexible and tough" to replace the glass that's usually used as a display cover in smartphones.

Samsung also developed a flexible, malleable adhesive that's durable enough to withstand hundreds of thousands of folds, and to make the display thinner than ever, Samsung created a new ultra thin polarizer that's 45 percent thinner than the technology used in its current displays.

A new software platform is being developed in partnership with Google that supports two UIs, one when the device is open and one when it's closed. Features like app continuity will allow for a seamless experience by keeping an app open when swapping displays, and up to three apps can be run at the same time.

​

According to Samsung, the Infinity Flex technology shown off on stage is part of an upcoming device that had elements of the design obscured. Samsung says that the device is not a concept, and that thanks to breakthroughs in manufacturing, mass production of the foldable smartphone/tablet is set to begin "in the coming months."

In the future, Samsung also plans to introduce new display technology that includes rollable and stretchable displays.

Article Link: Samsung Shows Off Prototype Smartphone With Foldable Display

I can’t wait to have a folding iPhone! Lol the size of and SE but the screen real estate of a Max.

 

[M33-1]

This foldable phone is laughable. Let’s take a black Radio Shack metal box and place a small screen on the front and a big plastic screen inside. Seriously. That thing looked incredibly thick and unbearably uncomfortable. They still can’t learn from Apple when it comes to initial product launches.