Samsung unveils breakthrough folding smartphone
Samsung unveils breakthrough folding smartphone
Samsung unveiled the device at a conference in San
Francisco
By James Titcomb, San Francisco 7 NOVEMBER 2018 • 7:59PM
Samsung has become the first major smartphone
manufacturer to unveil a folding phone as it seeks to reboot a stagnant mobile
market.
The Korean company, the world’s biggest mobile phone
maker, said its bendy screen technology would usher in “a new generation of
smartphones” as it unveiled a prototype handset at an event in San Francisco.
The device is the size of a tablet computer and features
a large 7.3-inch screen, but can fold in on itself, shutting like a book. When
folded in half, a second screen on the outside means it can operate like a
pocket-friendly smartphone.
Phone displays have become bigger each year as they are
increasingly used for watching videos, reading and social media. However,
bigger screens have meant a trade-off in portability that has frustrated some
users. Several phone companies are now working on phones that can fold up to
fit in a pocket as the next step.
Samsung did not give many details of the new phone, such
as how much it will cost or when it plans to put it on sale, except to say it
will go into production “in the coming months”.
The company sold an estimated 72.2m handsets in the third
quarter of the year, but sales fell by 13.4pc year-on-year amid a declining
market. The slowing pace of phone updates and rising prices has made consumers
less willing to upgrade on a regular basis.
Samsung’s Justin Denison said the screen technology,
which uses a compound of synthetic materials instead of glass to allow it to
bend, would be “the foundation for the smartphone of tomorrow”.
Samsung said the phone would be able to run three apps at
once - two on the bigger screen and a third on the separate, smaller display.
Geoff Blaber, an analyst at CCS Insight, said folding
phones were unlikely to catch on immediately, and would need support from app
developers to ensure they function properly.
"This will start as a niche device but has a deeply
strategic longer-term role as Samsung seeks to differentiate in an increasingly
saturated and homogeneous smartphone market,” Mr Blaber said.
"Success is dependent on apps and content that make
use of the display and that will take time, investment and refinement. This is
unlikely to become a mainstream device in the near term but has a longer term
significance"
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