The "Bloom" is off Samsung's next foldable phone as its real name is leaked
It has been known for a while that the codename used by Samsung for its second foldable device was "Bloom." And during last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the manufacturer reportedly confirmed behind closed doors the name Galaxy Bloom for its razr-esque clamshell. But tipster Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) disseminated a tweet early this morning that says this is not so.
The tweet says that it will be called the Galaxy Z Flip and is expected to be unveiled on February 11th at the company's next Unpacked event alongside the flagship Galaxy 20 series. Originally, it seemed as though the Galaxy Bloom name meant something because Samsung supposedly said that the device would be aggressively targeted to women in their 20's. But calling the new foldable the Galaxy Z Flip makes more sense.
The Galaxy Z Flip will be powered by the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform and feature a 10MP front camera
The Galaxy Z Flip folds along the horizontal axis and opens up to form a 6.7-inch display. Rumored specs include the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform and a 10MP front camera. If you're wondering what happened to the flagship specs that were originally attributed to the device, it appears that those are intended for the Galaxy Fold 2; the latter is the true sequel to the OG Galaxy Fold and is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform and include the ultra-thin glass display that we have been discussing.
Tipster Ice Universe disseminates a tweet about the name of Samsung's next foldable device
The use of less than flagship specs for the Galaxy Z Flip will actually have one good result. The price is expected to be in the $800-$900 range compared to the $1,500 price tag for the Motorola razr clamshell. And frankly, no one should be surprised by Samsung's decision to use the same larger 'phone to tablet' form factor for the true Galaxy Fold sequel. After all, Samsung's mobile chief DJ Koh said at CES that 400,000 to 500,000 Galaxy Fold units have been sold since the phone was released last September. At a price that is close to $2,000 a pop, the company generated close to $1 billion in sales of the OG Galaxy Fold. Do you really think that Samsung is going to give up on that kind of money so quickly?
Even the Huawei Mate X, limited to sales inside China at the moment, is selling 100,000 units a month according to the company. Huawei has collected nearly half a billion dollars from its foldable in just two months if these numbers are legit. And next month Huawei is expected to unveil a refreshed version of the device, the Mate Xs. The rumored specs call for it to be driven by the Kirin 990 5G SoC (which shoehorns 10.3 billion transistors inside each chip) and include the new Huawei Mobile Services. Thanks to the U.S. supply chain ban, the company cannot license Google Mobile Services. Not being able to use Google apps like Search, Gmail, the Play Store, Maps and others isn't much of a big deal inside China where most of these apps are banned anyway, but it does impact international sales. By including Huawei Mobile Services with the Mate Xs, the manufacture plans on releasing the revised foldable internationally, although you still won't find it for sale in the U.S.
So let's see if we can sum things up here. The Galaxy Fold 2 will not be the razr-like device introduced by Samsung next month. That phone, according to Ice Universe, is the Galaxy Z Flip. Later this year, Samsung will introduce a true sequel to the Galaxy Fold which will probably be called the Galaxy Fold 2. Huawei will introduce its refreshed Mate Xs next month at MWC and we are still awaiting a new release date for the Motorola razr. That's your foldable update for now.
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