Rumors have been making the rounds for years that Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is working on a foldable smartphone, codenamed the Galaxy X. And the company showed off its first foldable display at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, but no foldable device has surfaced yet.

This could all change next year after Samsung confirmed last month that it aims to launch its foldable smartphone in 2018 under its Galaxy Note brand. Unfortunately, the company also did state that it has several hurdles to still overcome with the bendable display, so the launch date could still be pushed out.

It seems, however, that Samsung isn’t the only tech giant to set its sights on the bendable smartphone market. If the latest speculation is to be believed, Samsung will face competition from Apple Inc. which is also reportedly working on a foldable iPhone.

Apple is reportedly working with LG Corp. to build an iPhone with a foldable organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, display, according to The Investor. LG Display has reportedly created a “task force” to develop the foldable OLED screen, while LG Innotek has a team dedicated to the development of a “rigid flexible printed circuit board.”

Rumors don’t always pan out, but Apple added fuel to the fire by publicly filing patents for a foldable iPhone, according to AppleInsider. Although the patent is innocently titled “Electronic Devices with Displays,” it does go on to describe a “flexible portion” and “flexible display” that could be folded without seams or a visible hinge.

Apple currently relies heavily on Samsung with the Korean tech giant manufacturing the OLED display, NAND flash and DRAM chips in the iPhone X. Samsung could benefit greatly if the iPhone X is a success and could make around $110 from each unit sold, according to The Wall Street Journal.

If Samsung is able to launch its Galaxy X next year, it will be well ahead of its biggest competitor, with The Investor noting that the foldable iPhone will only go into production in 2020.

Samsung Galaxy X

While little is known about the foldable iPhone, there is plenty of talk about the upcoming Galaxy X that could make an appearance next year.

Display and design

There is definitely plenty of speculation about the Galaxy X since Samsung has been working on it for so long, but a lot of these are conflicting reports.

The size of the display is said to be between five and six inches, but could extend to as much as eight inches if Samsung uses an unrolling mechanism built into the device.

There have also been conflicting patents filed by Samsung. One shows a device similar to the old flip phone with a hinge and camera on the rear, while another shows a wavy design that is also foldable in the same way.

Other reports suggest it will similar to a Galaxy S8 but taller, it will be thinner to allow it to be folded, as well as a two-sided screen. As the Galaxy X will launch under the Note brand, it will likely come with an S Pen stylus and is also rumored to have no bezels.

Under the hood

It is expected the Galaxy X will run on the upcoming Snapdragon 845 chip or later if it doesn’t actually launch next year. Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S9, due out in early 2018, is reported to get the first batch of Qualcomm Technologies Inc.’s Snapdragon 845 chips.

While there are no details yet on the device’s camera or biometric capabilities, if the reports about the Note9 being Samsung’s first device to get an embedded fingerprint scanner are true, then we would expect to see the same technology in the Galaxy X.

Launch date and cost

Samsung has confirmed that if all goes to plan we will see the new Galaxy X launched next year, but when exactly in 2018 is unknown. The Samsung Galaxy S9 could follow the same launch timetable as the S8 this year and launch in April, or the company could launch it earlier at Mobile World Congress at the end of February. To avoid drawing attention away from the S9, the company is unlikely to unveil the Galaxy X around the S9 launch.

If it’s ready in time, the company could launch it as early as January at CES or delay it till after the S9 launch, but ahead of the Note9.

If Samsung launches the Galaxy X as a premium device, as is expected, it will also likely come with a hefty price tag. The current Note8 starts at $929, so it’s possible the Galaxy X could cost over $1,000, putting it in the same range as the premium iPhone X.   

Image: Kārlis Dambrāns; Flickr