Samsung Galaxy X COMING In 2017: Folding, Flexible, 4K Super AMOLED Display

 

 

Samsung will launch as many as FIVE new Galaxy flagships in 2017

Well folks this could be it - 2017 may well be the year we first see a smartphone with a truly flexible OLED display, and not just in the "it's a bit bendy" LG G Flex style either. Nope, according to some very robust rumours out of Asia Samsung will release a new Galaxy-branded smartphone flagship next year which will be fully foldable, just like the old flip-phones of the 90s, except it'll fold right down the middle of the touch display with no impact on image quality. This handset, it's alleged, will be one of FIVE flagship smartphones Samsung plans to launch inside 2017, and it'll be dubbed the Samsung Galaxy X if the tipster sources prove correct.
The word comes via often reliable source of accurate Samsung details - SamMobile - a site with plenty of insiders lurking within Samsung itself, inside its home nation of Korea. The word emerged on May 13, with a report stating that the firm, following up on its incredible performance in Q1 2016 with the Galaxy S7 series, will push out a grand total of FIVE Galaxy flagship models in 2017. In addition, the report claims that amongst the devices will be a new model dubbed the Samsung Galaxy X, which will utilise the firm's flexible Super AMOLED technology, but unlike the Galaxy S7 edge with a fixed curved screen it will be the first folding smartphone with a truly flexible OLED setup.

As of May 25 we now have some more evidence that Samsung is gearing up for the Galaxy X next year. The firm has exhibited its flexible Super AMOLED technology at the SID 2016 expo, a dedicated display industry conference in San Francisco, and it's clear that this prototype is in a much more advanced state than any we've seen before - it almost looks production ready. The demo unit is a 5.7in Full HD 1080p 386ppi OLED screen arranged on a rig where the display is coiled in a roll but can be unravelled by an automated arm; the display is still operation while being coiled and unrolled and still showing pictures and video. The display measures 0.3mm thick although this does not include the touch layer. Of course with the display at 1080p it is not the rumoured 4K for the Galaxy X, but again this is a demo test prototype and not the finished product, but is a demonstration of what that may look like in terms of functionality, but with a higher resolution.

Of course anyone who has followed the smartphone space for a while will not be too surprised about this; Samsung's ambitions on the flexible smartphone front have been known for a long time - the firm has been talking for years about its intentions to bring a truly flexible smartphone to market and has rocked up at CES several times with very early prototypes. It was really just a question of "when", with Samsung beavering away in the background trying to get the technology to a commercially viable, mass-production ready state. In the meantime we've enjoyed the curved EDGE displays but these have simply been a tester to see how consumers respond to non-traditional display tech.
The idea of completely flexible and even foldable phones has been around for quite some time. Way back in 2009, there were Nokia concept phones doing the rounds which looked positively futuristic compared to phones at the time. But it wasn’t just Nokia that was looking to the future; all major players were experimenting with advanced form-factors in their R&D labs.
Samsung, however, is one of the biggest and most fearsome innovators in the mobile space. It builds chips, produces memory and is an expert with display technology -- the company’s successes in the mobile space are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the company’s overall business.
This is why we consistently see Samsung pushing the boundaries in mobile with new technology, new form factors and new ways of interacting with technology. VR will be a big deal in 2016/17, but the advent of form-factor changes to phones will also be very significant. The phones of tomorrow will not look and feel like the phone’s we use today; they will be flexible, more robust and likely feature plenty of new utilities that just aren’t possible with today’s physical designs.
SamMobile describes a launch schedule which at first will mimic 2016; in the first quarter or first half of the year it's believed the firm will simply launch the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 edge, probably around MWC, just as it did this year. At the same time, it is  expected we will see the Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy Note 7 edge launched later in the year, although exactly when isn't clear, previously this has been September, but rumours say this year's Galaxy Note 6 will arrive in August.
It is interesting that SamMobile's sources class the Galaxy Note series as a flagship (we would too, but generally the industry doesn't seem to) and that there will be TWO models, one with an EDGE display in 2017. This year the rumours are pretty adamant that Samsung will only release ONE Galaxy Note 6 model and is attempting to decide on either equipping it with an EDGE display or not. All Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 7 reportedly feature QHD display panels using Samsung's pretty amazing Super AMOLED diamond RGB tech currently seen on the Galaxy S7.

However, the new model, the Samsung Galaxy X, will feature a 4K diamond PenTile setup - this phone is also said to be the same one previously codenamed "Project Valley". It's said users will be able to fold up the handset to make it easily fit in a pocket. If the Samsung Galaxy X is well-received by consumers we can likely expect Samsung to pick up the positive feedback and really go to town with flexible screen devices; previously the firm released concept videos showing ideas for a whole range of similar products, including smartphones which can be unfolded into a larger tablet form factor.
The firm's portfolio has been steadily increasing since it started adding EDGE variants of its flagships, previously we'd just see a Galaxy S and a Galaxy Note flagship every year, then with the Galaxy Note 4 Samsung tested a dual-launch with the Galaxy Note EDGE alongside. Because that was so well-received the firm later followed up with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, as well as the Galaxy S6 edge+ phablet variant which released alongside the Galaxy Note 5.
At present there aren't any other details about the new Galaxy X phone in terms of specs or price, and we don't know when it will launch in Samsung's 2017 roadmap, but if all this turns out to be true (and we suspect it is) then we'll see a lot more leaks in the coming months.