Samsung Likely to Unveil Foldable Smartphones in Q3 2017

Tech giants LG and Samsung are racing each other to be the first to release folding displays to the market, although the two companies have very different approaches. Samsung is going to keep a hold on the technology which is said to be technically complete in house, and release it through their own products only whereas LG looks like they could let their technology be used first by other companies such as Apple and Huawei.

According to a Korea Herald report, LG looks to be able to release as many as 100,000 foldable displays in the fourth quarter of 2017, and Samsung was rumored to match that but also beat LG to the punch by releasing foldable display smartphones in the third quarter of 2017,. However, Samsung has put the brakes on the production while they are tangled up in a political scandal with the South Korean President Park Geun-hye, and this is preventing their executive-level reshuffle from taking place. The report says that a decision on whether Samsung will release the foldable displays will likely be made in February, but it could also be decided as late as March. This bodes very well for LG and gives them a good shot at being first to the market.

LG started development of their foldable displays around 3 years ago, and has a more advanced product than its rival, although both have reached technical completion. Samsung was previously working on what they call "Fold-In" phones, where the screen tucks inside the phone but the company's market research said that people found it too inconvenient so they switched to a "Fold-out" technology around August of 2016. "Fold-out" technology, as the name implies, is where the screen folds out when the user wants to use the device.

Market analysts at Strategy Analytics have predicted that the foldable display market could be as big as 163 million units by 2020. This shows lots of potential, and it will be interesting to watch how both companies approach it. Let us know who you think will be the winner between LG and Samsung in the comments below!

Source: The Korea Herald

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