Over the last 12 months or so, there have been tons of rumours regarding Samsung's upcoming foldable smartphone, currently known as the Galaxy X. While we know for a fact that a prototype is in the works, it seems that earlier indications that we may see it this year were untrue as this week a Samsung display engineer confirmed that the company would be taking more time with it.
This year, Samsung introduced the Galaxy S8 with a bezel-free display. It turns out, this new design is very popular, so rather than testing the waters with an all new flexible display, Samsung will be focussing on bezel-free displays for now.
Speaking at the Display TechSalon event in Seoul (via KoreaHerald), Samsung's principle display engineer, Kim Tae-Woong said: “Because the bezel-free display currently sells well, we still have enough time to develop foldable display”. He then added that the technology is “expected to be mature around 2019”, at which point the company will attempt to commercialise foldable phones.
While we won't see a Galaxy X on the market this year, there is still potential that we may see a prototype at some point. Still, it seems Samsung's foldable display is still further off than initially thought.
KitGuru Says: Samsung has been demonstrating its foldable display technology for years now, so it seemed pretty believable that we would see a close to finished product this year. Still, if the tech needs more time, then it needs more time.