mobile

That Long-Delayed Samsung Fold Phone? Looks Like It's Launching This Friday


The long-delayed introduction of the Samsung Fold smartphone may be reaching its denouement: It really is coming soon.

Several tech websites are now reporting the official unveiling will come Friday at the IFA Consumer Electronics Show in Berlin and simultaneously in South Korea.  The date was first reported in TheKorea Herald. Samsung isn’t talking.

The Fold opens like a book, giving users a much wider screen that presumably would be better for watching videos and playing games.  It is supposed to retail for $1,980.

What will come after that? According to Bloomberg, the next next big thing may be a Samsung square foldable phone that will open like a clamshell and is deliberately reminiscent of that old consumer favorite, the flip phone.  It will show up in 2020, priced lower than the Fold.

advertisement

advertisement

Bloomberg says Samsung is working with clothing designer Thom Browne on styling the square version, which is to be aimed at consumers more interested in a phone as a smart fashion accessory than a technological marvel.

The Samsung Fold was announced in February and was supposed to debut on April 26. A few days before, beset by embarrassing glitches (some pointed out by journalists who got to test it). Samsung pulled the phone back from the launch pad. In July, the company said the Fold would finally unfold in September, but didn’t name a date.

Sept. 6 seems to be that day,  but TechRadar quotes another well-known Samsung watcher who says it’s happening on Sept 27.

On the one hand, a foldable phone is a brand-new thing at a time when the mobile industry needs something fresh to awaken consumers' interest. Still, with its high price point and limited rollout, the Fold will probably  spark interest, but not many sales this season. Indeed, Samsung only expects to make 30,000 of them this year.

Next story loading loading..