- Foldable phones once seemed like a futuristic idea, but they’ve become a reality in 2019.
- Major smartphone makers have released or are working on foldable phones, including Samsung, LG, Huawei, and even Lenovo.
- These are all the companies that have explored or taken steps toward creating their own foldable devices.
The hype around foldable phones has reached a fever pitch, and smartphone makers are competing to gain the upper hand as they explore consumer interest in new designs.
Just four days after Samsung unveiled their Galaxy Fold, Chinese tech company Huawei showed off its foldable Mate X. Not to mention that Mobile World Congress 2019 is being held this week in Barcelona, a conference where tech companies have teased designs and prototypes for foldable devices that could soon go to market.
Despite all the fanfare, there are few foldable phones that have come to fruition, and even fewer that are actually available to purchase.
Here are the all the companies that are developing foldable phones, and how much progress each of them have made:
Samsung
Samsung officially revealed its foldable smartphone, called the Galaxy Fold, at its Unpacked event in February. The device acts like a smartphone when folded up, with a 4.6-inch screen that leaves huge swatches of space unused above and below the display. When unfolded, the phone acts more like a tablet with an expanded 7.3-inch display, and that extra screen real estate gives it the ability to show up to three apps at once. The phone also has a combined six cameras.
The Galaxy Fold will cost a whopping $1,980 when it launches on April 26, but it’ll only be available in select stores and in limited supply.
- Read more about the Samsung Galaxy Fold:
- IT’S HERE: Check out Samsung’s $1,980 foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold
- Samsung just introduced a wildly ambitious, $2,000 foldable phone — here’s how it works
- The 7 coolest things about Samsung’s crazy-ambitious $2,000 folding smartphone
- Goldman Sachs is right: Samsung’s folding phone may be a genuine threat to Apple’s iPhone
Huawei
Reuters
Huawei, a Chinese tech company, unveiled its own foldable phone at Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, just four days after Samsung showed off the Galaxy Fold. Huawei’s device, called the Mate X, is a smartphone-tablet fusion like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold. However, the Mate X bends outwards to reveal a larger screen, instead of the Fold’s book-like opening.
The Mate X has a bigger display than that on the Galaxy Fold — it comes in at 6.6 inches when folded, and 8 inches when unfolded. It’ll also come equipped with the ability to connect to super-fast 5G networks.
The Mate X is priced at €2,299 — approximately $2,600 — and will launch in the middle of 2019. However, the launch will likely not include the US, since Huawei phones are hard to come by in the US due to concerns over privacy and national security.
- Read more about the Huawei Mate X:
- Check out Huawei’s 5G foldable phone, the Mate X
- Here’s a close-up look at Huawei’s $2,600 folding phone, the Mate X
- Samsung and Huawei are both launching foldable smartphones this year — here’s how they compare
Royole
Royole
Royole, a little-known Chinese tech firm, actually beat Samsung and Huawei to launching a foldable phone when it debuted the developer edition of its FlexPai phone back in November. The 7.8-inch screen isn’t encased in glass like nearly all smartphones, and the company says it’s scratch-resistant and shatter-proof. The FlexPai can function as both a smartphone and a tablet, but it can also be used when it’s bent halfway (in an "A" shape) for split-screen capabilities.
However, reviewers who have tested out the FlexPai say it’s still a "first-generation" product. The hinge that allows the FlexPai to bend prevents the device from laying flat when folded, and apparently makes a "crunching sound" when folding.
The FlexPai developer model costs $1,318 for 128 gigabytes of storage, and $1,469 for 256 gigabytes of storage. Royole is selling the devices online and in-store in China. Like Huawei, Royole likely won’t be coming to the US anytime soon because of US security concerns.
- Read more about the Royole FlexPai:
- I got to try the world’s first foldable smartphone — but it feels more like a gimmick than a truly useful device
- This little-known Chinese company beat Samsung in launching a foldable phone — and it actually works
- This Stanford grad’s startup can make screens that are thinner than a sheet of copy paper — and he’s gearing up to take on Samsung and LG in the display market
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Smartphones are getting weird again, and it could be a sign that the industry is on the brink of another huge change
- Samsung says you won’t be able to walk into any store and try its new $2,000 foldable phone
- Samsung and Huawei are both launching foldable smartphones this year — here’s how they compare
Source: Business Insider – pleskin@businessinsider.com (Paige Leskin)