Samsung Display pours cold water on prospect of a foldable Galaxy anytime soon.
Rumors of a foldable Samsung smartphone have been circulating for years, with the name doing the rounds recently to refer to a phone that opens like a book to transform into a larger, tablet-sized screen.
But comments by a leading engineer at Samsung Display — the arm of the Korean electronics giant responsible for making those screens — suggest such a device is still a couple of years off.
Technical challenges and strong demand for bezel-free panels are responsible for pushing back the 'foldable' phone.
quotes Kim Tae-woong, Samsung Display's principal engineer, at the Display TechSalon in Seoul.
"Because the bezel-free display currently sells well," Kim says, "we still have enough time to develop foldable display. The technology is expected to be mature around 2019."
Kim notes that there were still some technical challenges to be overcome before foldable smartphone displays could ship in a retail product, the outlet reports, adding that single-sided foldable phones will likely arrive first. Double-sided foldable devices — where the entire surface area of both sides is basically a screen — should come later.
So unless the demand for bezel-free displays slows unexpectedly in the next year, don't expect a foldable Galaxy anytime soon. The idea of carrying around a single, super-slim device that can instantly double its screen area as needed remains exciting. But it's unlikely we'll see anything besides concept demonstrations from Samsung for the next couple of years.