CES 2018: Samsung reportedly showed off smartphones with foldable displays in closed door meetings

Report has it Samsung took advantage at being at one of the biggest trade shows in the world to see how its partners and other users would respond to what is being touted as the next big trend in tech: foldable displays. The South Korean tech company reportedly showed off its foldable mobile display concept in closed door meetings at CES 2018. As GSMArena reports, there have been hints on the show floor with regards to foldable panel technology but UX design might be pushing back production to next year.

Anonymous industry insiders claim they’ve seen a pair of Samsung’s foldable phones in the flesh. One of them is said to be the “Galaxy X,” which supposedly has a 7.3-inch display with something of a 21:9 aspect ratio and folds in half. Aligning to previous leaks, its folding mechanism seems to be similar to what we see on the Microsoft Surface Book, which means the edges won’t perfectly fall flat against each other. But with this being a smaller device, hopefully the air gap isn’t as significant. You can see how it can possibly look like through the schematics seen in the recent patent filing (which we’ve attached to this story).

The other unit, according to the same source, is outward folding with a “gentler curve” than the other model. This, however, is said to suffer from some durability issues and might come in as a second- or later-generation device as the company plans to perfect its design over time.

Reiterating what the original leaked info says, Samsung is targeting to develop the displays by March, manufacture the panels by September, and mass produce the inward folding version of the Galaxy X by November.