The South Korean branch of Samsung launched the official support page for a device bearing the model number SM-G888N0 that’s widely believed to be the long-rumored Galaxy X, the company’s first attempt at a consumer-grade foldable smartphone. While the handset already passed through a number of regulatory agencies over the course of this year, its mention on Samsung’s own pages is as official of a confirmation of its existence as the company will give prior to its actual launch.
The support section of Samsung’s website dedicated to the SM-G888N0 doesn’t reveal any actual hardware or software features of the handset, though many of them have already been the subjects of numerous industry rumors in recent times. Samsung’s previous statements on the matter which confirmed the company’s plans to introduce a foldable smartphone in 2018 clearly indicated that the tech giant sees such an offering as an alternative flagship, i.e. its third premium lineup that’s meant to be advertised and sold concurrently with the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note-series devices. The timing of its release still makes many of its hardware features uncertain; Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 is understood to be close to an announcement and should be implemented into the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus rumored to launch in February but it’s still unclear whether Samsung already managed to secure a sufficient quantity of such chips to also use them in a third device, especially one that’s meant to be introduced prior to its traditional flagship duo early next year. On the other hand, the actual quantity of chips required for the Galaxy X shouldn’t be too high seeing how the Seoul-based company’s upcoming offering is expected to be received as a niche product by consumers and is unlikely to be in as high of a demand as the Galaxy S9 lineup.
The Galaxy X will reportedly rely on a hinge, not unlike the recently announced ZTE Axon M, yet its overall form factor may be more similar to that of a flip phone than a book, with the hinge itself supposedly being of the multi-joint variety. One of the two screens found on the Galaxy X is said to be flexible and bendable in one direction, though the final design of the smartphone remains unclear. The latest development comes two months after the SM-G888N0 was certified in Samsung’s home country, with the device previously receiving approvals from various standards agencies around the world. With the support page for the unconventional phone now being live, its announcement is likely to be coming in the near future, possibly at CES 2018 that’s taking place in mid-January.
Samsung's SM-G888N0 Support Page