Samsung’s first foldable smartphone is predicted to have a 7.3-inch screen and come with a massive price tag which is likely to hover around the $1,850 mark, not accounting for carrier subsidies and promotions, South China Morning Post reports, citing a number of industry analysts and researchers. The South Korean original equipment manufacturer already confirmed it’s working on a bendable handset meant to be released at some point in 2019, with the latest reports on the matter indicating its suppliers will already start shipping the necessary components this November as flow production preparations intensify.
The 7.3-inch display panel of the device that was previously rumored to be called the Galaxy X should have a 4.5-inch diagonal when folded, as per the same source. Shinhan Financial analyst Park Hyung-woo predicts the device will feature two inside screens and one outside one, effectively serving as a major evolution of the flip phone. Mr. Park is convinced the Seoul-based OEM will be showcasing a working prototype of its foldable mobile device at the next iteration of the Consumer Electronics Show set to take place in January in Las Vegas, Nevada. The demo is likely to be held behind closed doors and won’t be the first of its kind, with Samsung reportedly showing off its older prototypes at both Mobile World Congress and CES 2018 earlier this year.
The high price tag of the Galaxy X or however the handset ends up being called should ensure that the product remains a niche offering throughout the next year, although Samsung is still understood to be targeting global availability. The smartphone is widely predicted to launch in the first half of 2019, though the exact timing of its debut remains unclear and presumably still hasn’t been determined by Samsung. Besides the experimental handset, the company’s Galaxy S10 lineup is already rumored for an MWC 2019 announcement in late February. Huawei, OPPO, LG, and Sony have all already been reported as working on foldable phone concepts, though only the foremost OEM is believed to have advanced the concept enough to be close to commercializing it.