Samsung Foldable Phone Launch Likely in February 2019, to Cost Around Rs 1,35,000

If reports are to be believed, Samsung is coming up with a foldable phone. The rumored phone is expected to be launched in 2019, for which production may start in November this year. According to a report by CNET, the foldable Samsung smartphone will have a 7.3-inch OLED screen when open and 4.5-inch when folded. The price is expected to be around USD 2000 (around Rs 1,35,000). The report quoted Kim Jang-yeol of Golden Bridge Investment as saying that the non-subsidised price of the phone could be about 2 million won, which is around USD 1850. The Samsung foldable smartphone is expected to be launched at Mobile World Congress in February 2019.

The report suggests that Samsung’s efforts to manufacture foldable smartphones is guided by slow down in the demand for smartphones. This is so because it has become difficult for companies to differentiate their devices and consumers don’t feel the need to upgrade as often.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note was one of the first devices to pack a bigger screen into a phone. This is now common for all smartphone makers. Samsung jumped into curved displays Galaxy Round, which was launched in 2013. Now, all Samsung flagship phones have a flexible and curved display.

Some phone makers have already experimented with foldable smartphones. In 2017, ZTE’s Axon M had two screens that folded out into a tablet and were connected by a hinge. For Samsung, its is hoped that the device will be a truly foldable smartphone with one flexible OLED display and no hinge. Samsung has already shown its technological prowess for such a device.

Samsung competes with Huawei to become the first smartphone maker to release such a foldable smartphone. Samsung Mobile President DJ Koh has gone on the record to talk about the company’s plans for a foldable Galaxy phone. He had previously told reporters to expect a folding smartphone as early as this year. Koh has also been quoted as saying that he doesn’t want the foldable smartphone to be just a gimmick. “I need complete confidence that we’re delivering the best user experience when we’re launching a new category,” Koh was quoted as saying by CNET in February. – Financial Express