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Samsung is working on two new foldable phones, also trying to fix crease on Galaxy Fold

By Victor Hristov

Published: Mar 06, 2019, 2:01 AM

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Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is shaping to be the first mainstream foldable phone, but Samsung is already working on two other foldable phone designs that could follow the Galaxy Fold.

The first one is a clamshell phone with a foldable screen on the inside and the other one is an outward folding phone, with its screen on the outside, much like the Huawei Mate X, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Two New Foldable Phone Designs

A clamshell and an outward folding phone

A new clamshell Samsung foldable could look much like this here leak of a foldable Moto Razr

The clamshell foldable phone with a vertically unfolding screen is one that Samsung is planning to reveal to the public late this year or early in the next year. That clamshell design currently also has a second screen on the outside, but Samsung is not yet set on keeping that secondary screen and the company will be looking at how users react to the secondary screen on the Galaxy Fold.

As to the other folding design, the one unfolding outwards, like the Mate X, that already exists as a prototype as it was earlier considered to replace the Galaxy Fold. And unlike the rather thick Galaxy Fold, that outward-folding design is a lot thinner because there is no secondary screen.

Samsung Foldable Phone Planned Releases:

Samsung Galaxy Fold - April 26th, 2019
Samsung clamshell foldable phone - late 2019, early 2020
Samsung outward folding phone - unknown release date

Samsung is Working to Fix One Important Galaxy Fold Issue

Crease-gate

Galaxy Fold has a crease right in the middle

While these two new foldable phone designs are way out in the future, Samsung is currently hard at work on fixing one important flaw in the Galaxy Fold, a nearly $2,000 phone that is expected to launch on April 26th, 2019.

That flaw is a crease that shows on the screen after you fold it about 10,000 times. The crease develops on the protective film on top of the display and not on the OLED panel itself, and so far it seems that Samsung has not found a way to fix this as the company considers offering free screen replacements. Clearly, that is not the best way to sell people on the most anticipated new development in smartphone technology.

Samsung's Foldable Phone Plans

The next big money-maker for Samsung?

Samsung predicts it can make 1 million foldable phones this year. And since it's not even clear whether it will launch any of the two upcoming foldable designs by the end of the year, it's safe to assume that the majority of that number will be the Galaxy Fold.

This new category is clearly very important for the company: these are high-priced, high-margin devices that could help Samsung's profits as it becomes harder to differentiate in a saturated and very competitive smartphone market.

Finally, keep in mind that those are internal plans that come from inside sources and it's not yet clear whether those devices will actually make it to store shelves, but the news at least shows that Samsung is still not completely settled on the Galaxy Fold as the one and only foldable phone design for the future.

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Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.