Samsung announced last year that it is aiming to launch its first-ever foldable handset in 2018, which is initially called the Galaxy X. The South Korean tech firm has yet to provide more specific details regarding the other hardware features of the Galaxy X, aside from the fact that it will incorporate a flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display technology. Nevertheless, the recent reports suggest that the development of the handset is right on track, and in fact, Google's next mobile OS version, the Android P, is already being prepared to match the foldable Samsung Galaxy X.
As reported by Tech Radar, Google is developing the Android P to support mobile devices with multiple displays. Even as the Samsung Galaxy X is not yet released, the search engine giant can use other existing foldable smartphones as the basis for its upcoming Android version, such as 2017 ZTE Atom M.
It is likely that the Android P will bring significant changes in the visual platform, making it very different from the previous OS updates such as the Android 6.0 Marshmallow and Android 7.0 Nougat. Bloomberg expects that the huge changes in the Android P will give Apple's iOS 12 update a run for its money.
Meanwhile, SamMobile has spotted a few leaked patent documents allegedly filed by Samsung for the Galaxy X. The first patent leak that surfaced this year shows a smartphone with a hinge in the middle. The upper and lower screen displays can interact with each other, although the two can also function separately. The upper and lower displays are expected to run the same software.
Another alleged Samsung Galaxy X patent shows a foldable handset with multiple screen panels, each of them coming with different aspect ratios. The most recent patent leak focuses on the bezel-less design of the screen display. The handset depicted in the patent filing is almost bezel-free, with the screen covering the entirety of the front display. An optical fingerprint sensor is embedded underneath the screen display.
Interestingly, the final Samsung patent takes aim at a full-screen device that eliminates all bezels. That patent, which also eschews the notch you'd find in Apple's iPhone X, includes an action button at the bottom that could be used to activate Bixby. It also appears to come with a virtual fingerprint sensor component — something Samsung so far hasn't been able to get to work.
Samsung has yet to confirm the release date of the Galaxy X, but the tech community still expects that the company will launch the foldable handset this year, just like what it promised earlier.
