This image was posted today by Samsung Mobile on its Facebook account. It clearly teases a foldable Samsung, just two days ahead of the company’s developer conference, which starts on Wednesday, November 7.
In addition to this tease, Korean business newspaper The Bell reports that Samsung Electronics has confirmed the new phone’s foldable display is finished. The paper says that Samsung Electronics will start mass production of the display — which may be named Infinity V — this month, starting as 100,000 units per month, with the objective of reaching between 500,000 to 1 million units per year. The Bell reports that the display will be quite expensive.
Samsung’s foldable phone — the Galaxy F or X, the name is not clear yet — is expected to be a tiny 4.6-inch screen while folded, opening to a full 7.3-inch display thanks to a flexible AMOLED and a patented hinge design that sets the phone in a flat position while open.
MORE: Samsung Galaxy X Rumors: Foldable Phone Release Date, Specs and More
The folding Samsung logo is not the first hint pointing to the phone coming out at the Samsung Developer Conference. The event’s invite already contains a clear hint at foldable phone, in the form of an animation that mimics the way the phone would open. And last September, Samsung Mobile’s chief DJ Koh hinted the phone may be announced at this venue.
These hints follow on multiple signs that Samsung is about to announce the phone, if only to allow developers to get applications ready to work with the phone’s new form factor, and start production of the device.
First, the phone’s special version of Android is reportedly being developed in collaboration with Google, which may mean Samsung is banking on its foldable phone being the Next Big Thing.
The new form factor will require apps to adjust on the fly from a 4.6-inch display when the phone folded to a full 7.3-inch display when its fully open, so it makes sense that developers get to know and prepare for the technology ahead of its consumer release.
The announcement will also fall in line with previous rumors about production dates, which pointed out that the Korean company may start mass manufacturing the actual phones in November of this year. For now, however, there’s only confirmation of the display starting production this month.
Samsung’s foldable phone will be just one of many coming in 2019, which at least five new phones counting Samsung, Huawei, and LG. LG is reportedly announcing its foldable AMOLED phone at CES. Last week, Chinese company Royole announced the first ever foldable phone, the Flexpai, beating all the big names to it.
These phones will be expensive: a report points out that the the foldable Samsung Galaxy may cost over $1,800, which is pretty crazy unless this thing is absolutely amazing.
