The World’s First Foldable Smartphone

It’s no secret that Samsung is trying to launch the world’s first foldable smartphone. Rumors of this phone have swirled around for years, but excitement has been drumming up significantly in recent months. Why? Well, partly because current smartphone design is now arguably stale. In recent years there’s been very little innovation in terms of form factor, not to mention that companies now opt for the safe candybar approach (slim bezels, 18:9 screen) and they’re too afraid to rock the boat.

Samsung’s foldable Galaxy phone is about the change all of that. It’s not exactly clear what this phone is going to look like, but the idea of a phone that folds is possibly the most radical design concept we’ll ever see since Nokia’s more experimental slide and flip phones in the early aughts.

Rumors say the phone is going to be named Galaxy F. What’s more, Samsung is apparently close to unveiling it. The company is trying to speed up development and can’t afford to postpone the phone again. Which makes sense since rival Huawei is reportedly going toe-to-toe with the South Korean giant for the world’s first title.

The Galaxy F may be announced as soon as November, according to Samsung Mobile chief DJ Koh. No word about specs yet, but Koh shared a lot of details on how it’s going to work. You will be able to use most of the phone’s functions even when it’s folded, but if you need to browse or see something, you might have to unfold it.

Development has been a “complicated” journey, but Koh said Samsung has “nearly concluded” it. The executive did not share details about pricing, but rumors say it’ll cost somewhere around $2,000, twice the price of an iPhone X.