Samsung has launched two new foldable phones in the form of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 – but it appears more form factors are on the way, according to Samsung CEO Chung Yi.
Speaking at the iMid 2024 conference (via PhoneArena), Yi said that “various form factor products, such as bi-foldables, multi-foldables and rollable products” are currently under development at Samsung.
There’s no timeline set for the launch of these devices, but given that Samsung is a pioneer in the foldable phone space, it’s likely it will be one of the first to bring these other designs to market as well.
However, it appears that Huawei will be the first to release a double-foldable device (or triple-foldable device, depending on whether you count the hinges or the display bezels): the company has a device that is reportedly coming out next month.
It took a long time
This news will come as no surprise to seasoned Samsung followers, not least because the company has a strong history of trying out innovations and ideas before adopting them for the mainstream – foldable phones being one such example.
We’ve already seen rollable displays demonstrated by Samsung Display, so we know the technology is in development. The question is how quickly it can be made ready for mass production at a price that won’t be exorbitant.
Previous rumors suggested we could expect a rollable phone as early as 2025. That might seem a bit optimistic as we approach the last third of 2024, but these displays have been in the works for several years.
Meanwhile, some other phone makers have yet to commit to the idea of foldable phones. While rumors of a foldable iPhone continue to surface every now and then, it doesn’t appear that Apple is moving away from the standard phone form factor any time soon.