Samsung will launch two additional foldable phones in addition to the device it announced last month, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
Samsung's $1,980 Galaxy Fold will be released next month. Bloomberg said that Samsung will announce another foldable phone with a different design, one that folds vertically, as opposed to outward like the Galaxy Fold, as soon as this year. It will sell also third phone that has folds outward, similar in design to the recently announced Huawei Mate X, Bloomberg said.
A Samsung spokesperson declined to comment.
A focus on folding devices is likely an effort to spur new excitement around phones that will drive people to want to upgrade from older models that lack significant new capabilities. Phone makers have added improved cameras and screens in recent upgrades, but that hasn't been enough to compel people to buy new and expensive products. Shipments of Samsung and Apple phones have slid as customers hang on to phones longer than ever before.
Folding screens allow a customer to use a device like a traditional phone but can unfold to reveal a larger, tablet-like display, acting as a two-in-one device.
Bloomberg said Samsung is facing issues with its current crop of foldable displays, which show "a crease that appears on the panel after it's been folded about 10,000 times." The Galaxy Fold has a plastic screen, but a supplier used by both Apple and Samsung, Corning, is already testing foldable glass that could be ready in the next few years. It's unclear if Samsung will use those panels.
