The Samsung Galaxy X has close to an urban legend status in the tech world, together with all the rumored foldable phones from other manufacturers like LG and ZTE. However, it looks like the Galaxy X is moving from the realm of imagination to reality in 2018.
According to LetsGoDigital, the National Radio Research Agency (NRRA) of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has already approved the foldable Samsung phone, with the model number SM-G888N0.
The phone is classed as "Equipment of radio equipment for LTE mobile communication," although SM-G888N0 was previously seen on the Wi-Fi Alliance website being listed as a smartphone device.
This coincides with a statement from Samsung President of Mobile Business Koh Dong-jin on Sept. 12, where he said that Samsung's foldable phone will be launched under the Galaxy Note brand, according to Bloomberg.
There are, however, several challenges that the company is facing when it comes to building and releasing the phone. Koh did not elaborate on what the problems are.
"As the head of the business, I can say our current goal is next year," he said. "When we can overcome some problems for sure, we will launch the product."
Samsung first announced the possibility of a foldable phone in 2011. The device, however, looked awkward, despite the smartphone surviving 100,000 folds with only a 6 percent drop in brightness where the device folded.
There is no official news yet regarding the specs of the Samsung Galaxy X but some rumors suggest that the smartphone might feature a 4K resolution screen, while others report a 5.7 inch 1080p OLED display with a pixel density of 386 pixels per inch (ppi).
Other smartphone companies looking to make foldable phones include LG, Lenovo and ZTE.
Koh also revealed that Samsung is partnering with auto-systems maker Harman in order to develop an artificial intelligence-enabled speaker that users can verbally order to play music and do other tasks, similar to Apple's Homepod.
