Excited for the future of folding smartphones? It’s going to cost you

As smartphone innovation improves, prices are going up for customers 
A close up of the Samsung Galaxy S9's camera
AP Photo/Richard Drew
Amelia Heathman14 June 2018

When Apple released the iPhone X last year, there were cries of outrage regarding the starting price for the new shiny smartphone.

Prices for the device started at £999 and continued upwards to the £1,149 mark.

Yet, as smartphone innovation continues with bezel-less screens and secure facial recognition features, it’s going to get pricey.

That foldable Samsung smartphone that you keep seeing rumours about? Analysts are predicting it could cost nearly $2,000 (£1,500).

What we know so far about the Samsung folding smartphone

Smartphone fanatics were hoping Samsung would reveal its new bendable smartphone at CES earlier this year, but alas we had the Samsung Galaxy S9 instead.

Named the Samsung Galaxy X, it’s thought the new folding smartphone will be either a flip phone or a clamshell handset.

Analyst Kim Jang-yeol from Golden Bridge Investment told the Korea Times the folding smartphone will have a 7.3-inch OLED screen when open and 4.5 inches when folded.

This means the phone will have a similar size to the iPhone SE when folded.

How the Samsung Galaxy X could look

And, as the company has shown off its foldable OLED screen designs before, it’s hoped that the device will be the first truly foldable phone, with no hinge.

Earlier this year, Gartner reported the first ever fall in the sales of smartphones. Across the market, smartphone sales fell 5.6 per cent.

People are holding on to their smartphones for longer, meaning the one-year or two-year cycle of new releases isn’t leading to as many sales as it used to.

Part of that is innovation. Take Apple for instance; the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 ranges are almost indistinguishable from one another in terms of design.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S9 smartphones look pretty similar, too.

However, if Samsung does knock it out of the park with a foldable smartphone, even one that costs nearly $2,000, it would mark a massive break in smartphone design and innovation.

We might not have to wait too long for it either.

Another analyst, Park Hyung-woo from Shinhan Financial, is predicting that initial parts suppliers will start production of the folding smartphone in November.

This means the new smartphone could be released in 2019, probably at CES or Mobile World Congress.

And, whilst it will be expensive, it will set the bar very high for future smartphones. That will definitely be worth it.

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