Samsung’s mobile division has taken to social media to put out a fifteen-second long teaser, hinting that it will be unveiling its folding smartphone at its February 20 Unpacked event just ahead of MWC 2019. The clever, curling typography littered spot doesn’t give away too many details. Instead, it sets the words ‘the future unfolds’ as its centerpiece alongside the date of the already-known event.
The number ’10’ also crops up in the teaser. That seems to imply that the company still plans to unveil its Samsung Galaxy S10 series of flagships as expected, but the inclusion could mean that the first-ever folding smartphone from the company will be a part of that family.
The Galaxy S10 family
The Samsung Galaxy S10 group of handsets had been long-expected to appear at Samsung’s Unpacked event during MWC 2019 in Barcelona for some time but the date was later announced as taking place the week before. The timing change would make sense if the company plans to unveil its folding flagship at the same time. It effectively leaves plenty of room for the new gadgets to become rooted in public consciousness before other companies begin debuts at the main event.
Rumors and leaks have already outed most aspects of the Samsung Galaxy S10 series, currently predicted to include the Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10+, and a limited edition Galaxy S10+. There is quite a lot of differentiation between the devices ranging from size to the number of included cameras and technology used.
For the smallest handset, the Samsung Galaxy S10e, a flat display panel is expected at 5.8-inch fullHD+ or QHD+ based on Samsung’s Super AMOLED display technology. The more ‘budget-friendly’ variant will also ship with a fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button found on its right-hand side edge. 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage will back up the Samsung Exynos 9820 or Snapdragon 855, as with other configurations, depending on which region its purchased in.
Stepping up from there is the Samsung Galaxy S10. That is predicted to include a 6.1-inch QHD+ Super AMOLED curved display, along with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. Both the base model and Samsung Galaxy S10e will include a single selfie camera but the primary snappers will be boosted to three sensors from the two found on the more affordable gadget.
Like the remaining Samsung Galaxy S10 handsets, the base model is expected to include an in-display fingerprint scanner.
Things only get better in the premium variants of Samsung’s up-and-coming flagship. The Samsung Galaxy S10+ is rumored to ship in two configurations with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM in the first of those and 128GB or 512GB backing that up. A ‘Ceramic Black’ variant is predicted to ship with support for 5G connections and a massive 12GB RAM with 1TB of storage.
Flexible aspirations
While characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy S10 family of devices might still be different when the handset’s launch in just over a week, the first folding smartphone from Samsung has been a bit more elusive, to begin with. The tablet/smartphone hybrid is predicted to feature top-of-the-line specifications and a much larger battery to support the more demanding display.
An “Infinity Flex” panel with suspected links to the gadget was unveiled late last year at SDC 2018, scaled at 7.3-inches when placed in tablet mode and featuring a secondary display for ‘smartphone’ configuration. The latter display measured in at over four-and-a-half inches.
Costs of that device have been speculated as high as $2500.
The future of mobile will unfold on February 20, 2019. #SamsungEventpic.twitter.com/MHvwrt7Rf4
— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) February 11, 2019