Samsung unveils foldable phone prototype (VIDEO)

Samsung unveiled a prototype of its new flexible display and other product upgrades at its annual developers conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.
 
The South Korean tech giant didn't introduce a finished foldable smartphone, despite recent rumors, but Samsung did briefly display a prototype device with the company's new Infinity Flex display, along with several other displays that will be available soon: the Infinity U, V and O displays.
 
The foldable prototype is, essentially, a tablet when open and a regular smartphone when folded. It features an exterior display on which users can make calls and use apps when the device is folded, as well as a larger 7.3-inch display that can be used when the phone is opened up.
 
It's designed to be folded and unfolded repeatedly hundreds of thousands of times without any degradation, said Justin Denison, Samsung's senior vice president of mobile product marketing. He added that Samsung will be ready to start mass production of the Infinity Flex display in coming months.
 
In a seemingly choreographed announcement at Android Developer Summit on Wednesday, Google said it would begin offering a new "Foldables" support category for Android devices. Dave Burke, Google's vice president of engineering, said Google is "enhancing Android to take advantage of this new form factor with as little work as necessary."

 

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