The rumored Samsung Galaxy X, with a foldable screen, created much hiatus in the mobile industry when it was announced last year. Ever since the industry and its faithfuls like you and me have been closely following the progress but not much about the device has surfaced as of now. Even its official support page is empty. However, for a change, new reports coming out of the CES 2018 gives us something worth sharing about the much-anticipated smartphone.
If you closely followed CES 2018, which was held in Las Vegas between 9 to 12 January, you might be wondering how you missed out on such big announcement from Samsung. No, you didn’t. Samsung actually didn’t say a word about the Galaxy X at the event, at least not publicly. According to The Investor, Samsung showed-off prototypes of the Galaxy X at a private gathering of high-up industry peoples.
The prototypes had a 7.3-inch display that can fold in the middle. No further specific details were disclosed. Two different versions of the device, one folding inwards and the other outwards, were shown. However, Samsung is expected to work on the inward-folding phone first. The outward-folding is considered a more advanced next-generation technology, definitely something to do with the bigger stretch on folding outwards. Furthermore, folding the screen inwards keeps it protected, whereas the other way round leaves the screen open to scratches. Actively bending and folding means the display would have to be very robust. There’s also the issue of what covers the display panel, not the typical Gorilla Glass of course. Samsung has made curved panels a hallmark of its high-end devices since the Galaxy Note Edge. Now phones with a foldable screen are definitely the next step forward for the South Korean giant.
How the device actually works?
Based on the patents filed by Samsung for a foldable smartphone, we can see device will be housed in two compartments connected to each other by means of a pivoting hinge. The upper part of the housing has a slidable plate, which slides in as soon as the phone is folded. This makes the phone smaller or larger as you fold it in and out. When folding, the top and the bottom part of the phone is pulled apart, allowing the hinge to bend while the screen follows the suite. The battery is integrated into the lower part of the housing and the speaker at the upper one.
Galaxy X 7.3-inch screen mobile?
Since the screen size of a phone is measured across the diagonal of the display, you can imagine that due to the increasing length of the phone, the screen size has actually increased to 7.3 inches.
Features and functions of Galaxy X
Feature-wise, the Galaxy X will be equipped with a heart rate monitor, dual-camera and a flash. The device will come with a light sensor, an optical sensor, proximity sensor, infrared sensor and/or ultrasonic sensor. A LED indicator will also be there to inform the user about the status of the device.
Samsung intends to launch the Galaxy X, or whatever its final name would be, by the end of 2018. However, one shouldn’t be surprised if the company initially launches it in Korea only. The company adopted the same strategy with the curved screen phones, launching Samsung Galaxy Round in Korea before coming to a wider audience with more products. More on Galaxy X could be available at MWC 2018, which kicks off at the end of February in Barcelona. Samsung has already promised it’ll unveil its next flagship device Galaxy S9 and S9+ at MWC 2018, and that, of course, will come with a teaser on what’s coming next. We just hope it’s Galaxy X.
