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Samsung to Announce Foldable Smartphone at Developer’s Conference
October 29, 2018

Samsung, as reported by GSMArena, held a press conference on 18 October in Shenzhen China called the '2018 OLED Forum'. In this conference, Samsung said that it is working on Under-Screen Sensor (UPS), which will integrate the front-facing camera and other kinds of sensors under the smartphone's display, eliminating the need for a notch or a mechanical slider on a smartphone to house the front-facing camera and other sensors. It may be the first true step to realizing a bezel-less future on smartphones.This technology will not be implemented on the Galaxy S10 or for any phone next year. Only a few prototypes have been tested with this technology and it is believed that it will not be used on any kind of commercial smartphone until 2020.On October 18th, Samsung Display invited about 20 customers to hold the "2018 Samsung OLED Forum" at the Shenzhen Marriott Hotel in China, where they outlined their future smartphone technology. Chinese customers such as OPPO, VIVO, Huawei, Xiaomi, Lenovo, and ZTE attended the event.


Reports of Samsung’s foldable device seem to have reached a fever pitch. In a tweet by Samsung Mobile, the company teased the upcoming Samsung foldable dual-screen phone in a very subtle way. The crossroads between the present and the future – Samsung Developer Conference is where the knowledge needed to stay on tech’s cutting edge will be presented. In the announcement’s teaser graphics, a line can be seen dividing into two lines, coupled with a tagline “Where now meets next.” First sighted by The Verge, the video clearly indicates they are going to show something on the Samsung Galaxy F, the dual-screen phone from Samsung. The teaser is mainly about the Samsung Developer Conference 2018, which is going to take place on November 7th and 8th, in San Francisco, California, where Samsung will showcase a number of new gadgets and new innovations at the SDC 2018. Samsung Mobile CEO DJ Koh is speaking and he previously said that the Samsung device would arrive in early 2019. So, it should be discussed at this device in the Developer Conference. Samsung announced it is also is working on a foldable laptop which will have a flexible display. Samsung PC division’s VP for marketing, Lee Min-Cheol said, “Like foldable smartphones, Samsung is collaborating with display makers to develop laptops with foldable displays.” Samsung will launch three Galaxy S10 models and a long-awaited foldable phone early next year, according to a Bloomberg reportthat corroborates and adds new details to information separately revealed by analyst Ming-chi Kuoand Korean mediaearlier in the year. The S10 and S10 Plus are said to include curved OLED screens with in-display fingerprint sensors, a technology available in high-end Chinese phones this year but yet to be deployed by Samsung. The phones also reportedly have three cameras on the back with a selfie camera that is “visible and tucked under the screen;” it’s unclear what this actually means, though scattered rumorshave suggested that Samsung is working on displays with tiny holes to accommodate cameras beneath the panel itself. Bloomberg also says Samsung is testing S10 prototypes without headphone jacks, although this doesn’t necessarily mean the company has made a final decision to omit the connector. The third S10 model is said to be a cheaper variant without a curved screen and possibly without an in-display fingerprint sensor. (Kuo’s July report said that this model would have a fingerprint sensor on the side of the device.) Samsung has released “lite” variantsof its Galaxy S phones in the past, but they typically shared little in common with the flagship devices and weren’t launched several months later. The company’s stated strategy is tobring more high-end features to its mid-range devices,so extending the prestigious Galaxy S brand in this way makes sense. Samsung is also said to be in talks with Verizon Wireless to bring a 5G version of the Galaxy S10 to the US. It’s unclear what stage Verizon’s 5G network will be at by the time of the Galaxy S10’s release; the company’s position has been that it’ll launch 5G-capable mobile devices in early 2019, though there are several caveatswith its already-available “5G” home internet service. Leaked code already suggested that Samsung was working on a 5G Galaxy S10 and revealed the device’s codename “Beyond,” corroborated by Bloomberg. The Bloomberg report also contains details on Samsung’s forever-in-gestation folding phone, codenamed “Winner” aspreviously reportedby The Wall Street Journal. Samsung is supposedly still deciding whether the device will fold out vertically or horizontally, which seems implausible given the company recently suggestedit could be shown off at its developer conference next month. The report says Samsung may instead present conceptual details of the design and user interface if it can’t bring the actual device. The folding phone apparently won’t include an in-display fingerprint sensor because of technical difficulties with the screen technology. It’s said to include a four-inch display that can be used when the phone is closed, with a much larger screen on the inside that unfolds like a wallet — similar to a concept shown off in 2014 (above). The WSJ’s earlier report said the inner screen would be about seven inches diagonal when unfolded, though it’s hard to know quite what that’d look like without knowing the aspect ratio. Bloomberg says the folding display is “coated with a film” instead of glass, but doesn’t say if it’s responsive to touch or not. In any case, 2019 is shaping up to be a big year for Samsung’s mobile division, which is in need of a hit after disappointing sales for the Galaxy S9. Samsung’s 2018 releases have been solid, but distinctly iterative and overshadowed by flashy Chinese rivals — the question is whether the company can regain its reputation for technical innovation.