After much anticipation, Samsung teased that it will finally unveil its foldable smartphone at its Galaxy Unpacked event on Feb. 20.
“The future of mobile will unfold,” the South Korean tech giant tweeted Monday, all but confirming that it would give consumers an official look at the smartphone that promises to open like a book for optimal screen size.
The future of mobile will unfold on February 20, 2019. #SamsungEvent pic.twitter.com/MHvwrt7Rf4
— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) February 11, 2019
“There is a device in here and it is stunning,” Samsung Electronics America SVP and GM Justin Denison said during the company’s November developer conference, during which he showed off a preview of the phone’s “Infinity Flex Display.”
Samsung's new foldable phone with "Infinity Flex" revealed! The phone is in disguise, thickness is not the final product according to SVP product management Justin Denison. #SDC18 #Bixby #Samsung #infinityflex #Apple #Google #Android #OneUI pic.twitter.com/Foemf3dB56
— Paul Tower (@paultower) November 7, 2018
While the prototype in the November demo appeared bulky, Denison indicated that the actual device was purposely hidden in a case so that people couldn’t see the true design until its launch—which will presumably occur later this month, alongside Samsung’s new Galaxy S10.
The exec promised that the device could not only expand to a “full seven inches” and run three apps simultaneously, but that it will maintain a sleek appearance with a screen that “had to be thinner than any other.”
But is it possible that consumers have already seen the smartphone?
CNET reported that Samsung’s Vietnam branch might have revealed the design in a teaser video earlier this month that the tech company has since deleted.
Samsung's foldable phone may have been revealed in leaked teaser https://t.co/z6UniX90rZ pic.twitter.com/0YQcPezLyn
— CNET (@CNET) February 2, 2019
Although Samsung axed the ad, it lives on courtesy of tech leak enthusiasts, who uploaded videos of the teaser on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=P86t1F-B5Hs
Samsung isn’t the only company working on a foldable smartphone. Rouyu announced plans for a bendable device in November and LG is expected to follow suit later this year.
While some argue that a foldable phone is unnecessary, the move could improve Samsung’s recent smartphone slump.