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Samsung has postponed Galaxy Fold launch events in China
The $2,000 Galaxy Fold is already off to a bumpy start no thanks to some broken review units (ours is fine, by the way), and though the April 26th launch in the US remains unaffected, folks on the other side of the world aren't as lucky. Over the weekend, Samsung announced that it has postponed the press events in Hong Kong and Shanghai, which were originally scheduled for April 23rd and 24th i.e. this coming Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Oppo's prototype foldable phone looks a lot like the Huawei Mate X
Nope, we're not quite done with foldable phones from MWC just yet. Following its 10x camera zoom technology unveil over the weekend, today Oppo surprised us with its very own foldable phone, but in a not-so-official way. The company's vice president, Brian Shen, took to Weibo to show off said device which, much like the ones from Royole and Huawei, folds outwards. What's awkward is that Oppo's prototype bears a striking resemblance to Huawei's Mate X, especially with this hinge design and also that camera strip on the back when folded.
TCL's folding phone projects include a watch-like bracelet
Multiple companies have ideas as to how they'll develop folding smartphones. TCL, however, isn't content to settle on one -- it's seemingly tackling them all. CNET has obtained images and patent filings that show TCL exploring five foldable designs. Four of them are ultimately variants on a theme (folding horizontally or vertically, inward or outward), but a fifth model would turn into a smartwatch-style bracelet. Effectively, it'd resurrect Lenovo's Cplus concept as a practical product.
That's probably not Samsung's foldable phone
Showcasing an array of Samsung innovations that haven't happened yet, a video reportedly posted then pulled by Samsung Vietnam showed a foldable phone in use. Around the 23-second mark, a woman unfurls a folding Galaxy phone minus the unwieldy casing we saw on Samsung's Infinity Flex display revealed at SDC 2018. Both the Galaxy S10 series and... whatever Samsung titles its debut foldable phone are meant to appear at Samsung's Unpacked event scheduled for February 20th. So an accidental leak a few weeks before might not shock. But I'm not sure this is it.
Huawei's foldable phone will be revealed on February 24th
After years of buzz, we could finally see not one but two foldable phones launched this month. Huawei has taken to Twitter to announce an event at Mobile World Congress on February 24th at 2PM Barcelona time / 8AM ET, just days after Samsung's annual Unpacked festivities. The company revealed its plans to launch a foldable phone in 2019 last October. At the time, it said the device was undergoing fine-tuning, but the imminent launch indicates that Huawei may have smoothed out any wrinkles.
Xiaomi's flexible phone concept folds on both sides
Xiaomi truly is working on a foldable phone, company president and co-founder Lin Bin has confirmed in a teaser he posted on Weibo. In the video, you'll see the executive using a tablet-sized gadget -- until he folds its sides and uses it like you would any phone. Its UI even automatically resizes itself to occupy just the middle part of the screen, so you won't have to flip the device to look at the folded parts of the display.
Motorola patent teases a RAZR-like phone with a foldable display
A newly-discovered Motorola patent may be our first look at Lenovo's rumoured RAZR foldable phone. Unearthed by 91 Mobiles, the filing contains several illustrations that seem to show a handset with a folding screen on the inside and a second, smaller screen on the outside.
LG smartphone rumor suggests a 'second screen' add-on
Samsung has already teased its future of "Infinity Flex" foldable devices that blur the line between phone and tablet, and while we'd heard LG would show off something similar at CES last week, it didn't. Now CNET cites anonymous sources indicating that we'll see a new mobile device from LG at Mobile World Congress 2019 that supports an optional "second screen" attachment, described as a sort of case with a screen. That could give it extra display area rivaling devices like Samsung and Royole, and as Google has already committed to supporting Android devices with changing screen sizes, we'd expect to see more companies give it a try. The odd configuration could also explain some of the recent trademarks that surfaced from LG including Foldi and Duplex. CNET isn't clear on whether or not this adjustable device will be the mainstream G8 device, or perhaps a separate device like LG's previous G Flex series, but it will be something to keep an eye on as MWC's opening approaches on February 25th. We're expecting to hear more about Samsung's flexible plans and the Galaxy S10 on February 20th, and we wouldn't be surprised if LG also makes a pre-show splash with new mobile hardware.
Motorola's next RAZR revival could be a $1,500 foldable phone
Motorola's RAZR flip-phone is reportedly set for a $1,500 foldable makeover. The new handset could arrive exclusively through Verizon as soon as next month, per The Wall Street Journal's sources. You can blame that massive price tag on the expensive components required to build a foldable phone (just ask Samsung, which apparently has its own $1,500 flexible handset slated for a February 20th reveal).
The world's first real foldable phone is rough around the edges
Unless you're (for some reason) a fan of personal cinema headsets, you almost certainly haven't heard of Royole. That's OK -- founder and CEO Bill Liu wanted it that way. Unbeknownst to most of the world, Royole has quietly been working to pioneer and perfect its own flexible screens since 2012, and its new FlexPai smartphone represents something of a coming-out party.
Live from LG's CES 2019 press event!
The CES 2019 madness is kicking off with LG's press conference today. As we found out earlier this week, the company will be showing off its new OLED and LCD TVs, including two 8K sets. Rumor has it LG could be ready to unveil a foldable phone, though don't be disappointed if that doesn't actually happen here in Las Vegas. It may be waiting to introduce it later in the year, when it wouldn't have to compete for attention with the thousands of other gadgets being announced. Either way, we'll find out together and bring you the news as it happens at 11AM ET / 8AM PT. Keep your eyes on this page.
Xiaomi might build a three-panel foldable phone
Don't look now, but Samsung's foldable phone might already be old hat. Reputable leaker Evan Blass has shared a video of what's believed to be a three-panel folding phone from Xiaomi. The dimly-lit clip shows precious little beyond the display, but it's clearly the centerpiece. In addition to providing a large landscape view, the two side panels can fold backward to provide a conventional phone-sized screen.
Samsung's foldable phone could cost over $1,700
Less than a week since Samsung unveiled its "Infinity Flex" display for its upcoming bendy smartphone, a new report from South Korea claims to know the name, price and release date of the device. The Yonhap News Agency's industry sources suggest the phone will be dubbed the "Galaxy F" -- a name that's been floated about before, along with "Galaxy X" -- and will debut in March, around a month after a 5G-enabled S10. But it won't come cheap: Yonhap believes the bendy phone will be an exclusive device that could cost as much as $1,770, though it adds the company hasn't "settled" on a price.
Samsung debuts foldable 'Infinity Flex' phone display
As predicted, Samsung has unveiled a flexible display at the company's 2018 developer conference in San Francisco. It's still very much in prototype stage, but Samsung wanted to take the opportunity to show off how UI and UX works on a flexible display, so that developers can make apps that optimize it.
Android will natively support foldable phones
Samsung said it would unveil its foldable phone features at its developer conference, and Google is willing to help out. The company is introducing native foldable device support in Android to let apps and interfaces adapt to phones that can bend on a whim. You could watch a movie on a folded screen while you're on the bus, for instance, but have the video resize for the unfolded screen when you're at home. And this isn't just a theoretical exercise -- Google is working with multiple device makers who plan foldable Android hardware, Samsung included.
Samsung to reveal foldable phone features this week
As Samsung Mobile's CEO suggested months ago, the company is preparing to release some details of its "foldable phone" during a developer's conference in San Francisco -- and as seen by the logo treatment below, its social media accounts are fully prepared. In a call with reporters after releasing its quarterly earnings last week, exec Lee Kyeong-tae explained that it would show off some of the UI features to explain how it improves multitasking, usable as a phone when it's folded or as a tablet when opened.
Huawei is working on a foldable 5G smartphone
It's wasn't too long ago that flip phones were all the rage, and now it looks they might have a spiritual successor. Richard Yu, CEO of Chinese smartphone maker Huawei, told Digital Trends that his company is working on foldable phones as part of its next-generation device lineup.
Samsung and LG could launch foldable phones later this year
We might soon be able to buy actual foldable phones after years of looking at one concept after another. According to The Korea Herald, Samsung and LG are planning to launch bendable phones later this year. Samsung reportedly began working on a phone that folds out and turns into a 7-inch tablet in August, and it's expected to roll out over 100,000 units in the third quarter. It apparently wasn't a big challenge for the company, since it already previously developed a fold-in phone technology.
