Samsung’s first foldable phone to launch in 2017

Samsung has been working on foldable displays for many years now and the Korean giant might be ready to launch its first foldable smartphone in 2017.

Sources say that Samsung’s first foldable phone might debut at the Mobile World Congress. The company is apparently considering building two new smartphone models — with one that folds like a wallet. One of the two devices will have a 5-inch screen when used as a cellphone, but it can be rolled out to show off an 8-inch display.

Another rumour from a Weibo user via Sammobile says the South Korean giant will release five smartphones in 2017 — the Samsung Galaxy S8, the S8 Edge, the Galaxy Note 7, the Note 7 Edge and the Galaxy X.

The Galaxy X is the highlight here, as it will be an entirely new category of Samsung’s lineup that will focus on the company’s foldable display for smartphones.

All the mentioned devices, except the X, will have a Super AMOLED display with a 2.5K resolution, as well as a RGB subpixel arrangement. The Galaxy X, codenamed Project Valley, is aiming far higher, with a 4K display using a “diamond PenTile subpixel arrangement.”

Other previous reports confirm the existence of Project Valley.

The company introduced the concept of a foldable display at CES 2013 and supposedly showed its first foldable phone prototype in a private meeting at CES 2014.

However, an old report by SamMobile suggests Project Valley may not have a wide international launch at first. According to anonymous inside sources, when the Galaxy X first goes on sale, it’ll be available in the U.K., Germany, Italy, South Korea, France, Poland and Nordic countries.
Samsung has been experimenting with launching different devices in different locations, controversially deciding to hold the Galaxy Note 5 back from the U.K. and Europe.

Samsung is allegedly testing two variants of the device with the main difference being the processor. One has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 620, while the other has the Snapdragon 820. These are some of the newest processors from Qualcomm that feature Quick Charge 3.0, but if a launch is slated for 2017, it’s likely Samsung will opt for something newer down the road.

The only other specs include 3GB of RAM, a MicroSD slot for expanded storage and a non-removable battery. The presence of a MicroSD slot will be welcomed by many, but it’s unlikely this phone will be all that affordable, at least early on.