Samsung gives first glimpse of foldable phone

[webfact]

Samsung gives first glimpse of foldable phone

By Jane Lanhee Lee and Munsif Vengattil

 

Justin Denison, Samsung Electronics senior vice president of Mobile Product Marketing, speaks during the unveiling of Samsung's new foldable screen smart phone, during the Samsung Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 7, 2018.

 

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd unveiled its much-anticipated foldable phone in San Francisco on Wednesday, urging Android developers to start writing apps for it.

 

Samsung needs to get the foldable phone right to reverse steep declines in profit for its mobile division and restore some of the cachet its brand has lost to Apple Inc <AAPL.O>.

 

Foldable phones promise the screen of a small tablet in a pocket-sized device.

 

Justin Denison, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics America's Mobile Product Strategy and Marketing, showed a prototype with a screen he said measured 7.3 inches diagonally.

 

Folded in two it appeared to resemble a thick phone, but Samsung did not give media or developers a chance to touch or see the device up close.

 

Dave Burke, vice president of engineering for Google's Android software platform, told a Google conference in California that Samsung planned to introduce a new Android-based device early next year.

 

"We expect to see foldable products from several Android manufacturers," he said.

 

Samsung said it would be ready for mass production in the coming months.

 

Analyst Bob O’Donnell with Technalysis Research said that while the bendable screen provided a wow factor, shoppers may not like the thickness of the folded phone or its price tag.

 

"They'll have to prove that it's more than just a gimmick," said O'Donnell. "But it’s smart to open it up to developers early to do different types of experiences."

 

Maribel Lopez, an analyst at Lopez Research, said that the product would likely be relatively expensive in the near term.

 

"We're talking about brand new materials that have been made for this and also a new manufacturing process," said Lopez.

 

The South Korean tech company is among a handful of developers working on foldable phones.

 

China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has said it is planning to launch a 5G smartphone with a foldable screen in mid-2019.

 

Samsung and Huawei, however, have been beaten to the market by Royole, a Chinese display making start-up, which last week unveiled a foldable Android phone with a 7.8 inch screen, priced from around $1,300. Royole said it would start filling orders in late December.

 

(Reporting By Jane Lanhee Lee, Munsif Vengattil and Paresh Dave; Editing by Patrick Graham, Maju Samuel, Greg Mitchell)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-11-08

 

[Ulic]

Personally, I am not remotely interested in buying a foldable phone.

[Issanman]

It wasn't so long ago that everyone had folding phones...

Edited November 12, 2018 by Issanman

[fanjita]

I don't want to unfold a phone every time I want to use it.  This isn't going to catch on.  

[Jdiddy]

47 minutes ago, fanjita said:

I don't want to unfold a phone every time I want to use it.  This isn't going to catch on.  

You dont have to, there is a normal screen on the back of one of the sides so you can use it like a normal phone, then when you sit down for a coffee you fold the thing out and use the big screen for internet browsing

[fanjita]

4 minutes ago, Jdiddy said:

You dont have to, there is a normal screen on the back of one of the sides so you can use it like a normal phone, then when you sit down for a coffee you fold the thing out and use the big screen for internet browsing

Thanks for that informative post, Jdiddy.  I honestly didn't know that.  

 

What I would say is that is where a tablet comes in.  So still not highly enamoured.  

[Jdiddy]

1 minute ago, fanjita said:

So still not highly enamoured.  

Yeah im not interested that much, dont like the current obsession with minimising bezel either

 

The Foldable will also cost $2500 from what ive heard, but people are still going to buy it with money they dont have to show off and impress people they dont like 

[fanjita]

4 minutes ago, Jdiddy said:

The Foldable will also cost $2500 from what ive heard, but people are still going to buy it with money they dont have to show off and impress people they dont like 

My wife's iPad Pro cost just over 600 quid this time last year and what a fantastic piece of kit.  I couldn't justify that sort of money for a foldable phone.

[willieaames]

If there's any positives to it, it would be the ease of reading, and bigger screen is often more useful.

[MJKT2014]

Samsung is renowned for giving us superfluous junk we don't need. I wonder if this foldable screen device will come with a lifetime warranty and free replacement when it cracks from excessive folding?

[ballpoint]

I like using a tablet, but don't like carrying it around, "man bags" not being my thing.  The thought of something that fits in my pocket, able to be taken out and used on the fly as a phone, while also able to be unfolded to a full size tablet, appeals to me.  Once this phone is on its second incarnation, with the bugs ironed out, I'll definitely be interested in buying one.

[guzzi850m2]

There was another company launching a foldable phone for over 1000$ not long time ago and it looks like like crap. It can be folded x times before it ending in 2 pieces. I don't know if the remaining 1/2 will work after that, haha.

I use a 10" tablet at the house and bring my smart phone when going out.

When I am out I try to avoid using the phone too much but rather take in the surroundings, I spent too much time in front of screens as it is.

 

Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

[Ks45672]

On 11/14/2018 at 4:40 PM, fanjita said:

I don't want to unfold a phone every time I want to use it.  This isn't going to catch on.  

People said the same thing about the Samsung galaxy note 1 back in 2011....they said nobody would want a phone with a screen that size and it was 5.3"..... ???? 

 

 

[Ks45672]

On 11/17/2018 at 9:30 AM, ballpoint said:

I like using a tablet, but don't like carrying it around, "man bags" not being my thing.  The thought of something that fits in my pocket, able to be taken out and used on the fly as a phone, while also able to be unfolded to a full size tablet, appeals to me.  Once this phone is on its second incarnation, with the bugs ironed out, I'll definitely be interested in buying one.

Definitely think there will be a niche market for it once the bugs are ironed out and the price comes down to a sensible amount ... A 5 or 6" device in your pocket that opens into a 10 or 12" tablet would be useful for a lot of people... 

[balo]

I already own a Samsung tablet , and I also own a Samsung phone.

 

So for me this would become handy , it means I do not have to drag a big tablet with me .  The only disadvantage is the thickness. I want it to fit in my pocket. 

 

[Ks45672]

30 minutes ago, balo said:

I already own a Samsung tablet , and I also own a Samsung phone.

 

So for me this would become handy , it means I do not have to drag a big tablet with me .  The only disadvantage is the thickness. I want it to fit in my pocket. 

 

The reports said the demo unit was  displayed inside a box so it may not be as thick as it looked 

https://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-foldable-phone-863883/

 

Probably by the second or third gen they will be not much thicker than 1cm

 

Laptops  already on the market are under 1cm and i can remember my first laptops being nearly as thick as the yellow pages lol

https://m.windowscentral.com/thinnest-laptops