Smartphone competition is as fierce as ever with today's leading tech giants introducing innovations through their latest flagships. Last year, Apple launched a radical and sophisticated iPhone X. The company's closest rival, Samsung, however, still managed to get attention by announcing the arrival of the so-called Galaxy X, its first foldable handset. Back then, it was tipped for a 2018 release, but recent developments suggest we might have to wait a few more years to see the Samsung Galaxy X.
The Samsung Galaxy X would become the South Korean tech firm's biggest breakthrough in years, showing that the current smartphone design can be further enhanced to support a dual display panel.
Although, the technology to make this wonderful idea into a reality is not yet ready, according to Qualcomm's product manager for display technology, Salman Saeed. In an exclusive interview with Tech Radar, Saeed said that the Galaxy X may not make it to the 2018 release date that Samsung had first promised.
If anything, Saeed expects that the foldable Samsung Galaxy X, just like those prototype devices depicted in previous patent leaks, will take a few more years before it can be unveiled. Samsung envisions the Galaxy X to become a handset that can be folded without having a visible gap or seam that divides the two displays.
With this, the device would need a truly flexible display panel that can withstand frequent folding. Unfortunately, Saeed believes that the components available on this day to build such display architecture "are not flexible enough."
The Samsung Galaxy X will not be the first foldable handset in the market, as the ZTE Axom M already delivered a twin-display feature. Although, the Galaxy X aims to be a better option for a foldable device by having a seamless or gap-free screen view.
Samsung already gave the public a glimpse of this offering at a previous Consumer Electronics Show (CES) demo, which was followed by a series of leaked patent filings that seemed to suggest the final product's imminent launch. Still, there is no guarantee that the Samsung Galaxy X will see the light of day anytime soon.
Meanwhile, Samsung executive DJ Koh said at the CES 2018 that the Galaxy X plans are pushing through, although he admitted that it is still quite early to talk about its release date. With this, it looks like the current odds are not in favor of an earlier Samsung Galaxy X release date.
