Samsung Announces The Galaxy Z Flip: Foldable Phone With Glass
Today Samsung announced the new Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra, but the regular flagship phones weren't the only devices announce today as we've also seen the unveiling of the new Galaxy Z Flip. The new Z Flip is Samsung's second foldable phone to market after Galaxy Fold, but takes a new approach in terms of design as it comes in a new clamshell design with only a single primary screen.
[...] What makes the Z Flip extremely impressive though is its display. It's not the first flexible display out there, and it's relatively average with a 2636 x 1080 resolution. What makes it special, is that this is the very first display on the market that has an ultra-thin glass cover on it – yes, it's a foldable glass screen. The implications here are huge when compared to a plastic foldable screen, and the glass should be significantly more scratch resistant than plastic alternatives, making this a much more viable option when it comes to long-term durability of the phone.
Samsung's hinge mechanism was designed in such as way that it minimises dust ingress into the gears of the system. What's also special is that the phone clicks in at different angles such as 120°, instead of being freely flexible at any angle.
The phone is $1380/1480€.
Corning is making the smaller, outward-facing secondary display, but the origin of the "Ultra Thin Glass" is not yet known:
Besides the Snapdragon 855+, we have a 6.7-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2636x1080. Instead of the delicate plastic of the Galaxy Fold, the Z Flip is rumored to be covered by an "Ultra Thin Glass." We know companies are working on flexible glass for these folding smartphone displays. The industry leader is Corning, the maker of the "Gorilla Glass" cover that adorns nearly every high-end smartphone, but Corning's bendable glass solution is not on the market yet. One report out of Germany is that Samsung's partner is Schott, a German glass producer.
Also at VentureBeat.
Related: Samsung Announces the Galaxy Fold, a Phone-Tablet Hybrid Device
Corning Working on Flexible Glass for Devices
You're Folding It Wrong: Tech Reviewers Break Samsung Galaxy Fold after Just Days of Use
Samsung Galaxy Fold Delayed Indefinitely Following Reports of Broken Displays
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Samsung finally showed off its new foldable smartphone, the $1,980 Galaxy Fold
Samsung on Wednesday announced more details about its foldable smartphone, called the Galaxy Fold. At Samsung's Unpacked event, we finally saw what the Galaxy Fold will look like, having only seen the device in the shadows when the company announced its existence in November.
The device will use a "7nm" processor and include 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of internal storage. Oddly enough, there is no microSD slot or headphone jack despite the device's size. Galaxy Fold will include six cameras.
See also: The Galaxy Fold makes no sense as a consumer device yet
With the Galaxy Fold, you spend big to get access to the beta test. The glimpses I got, brief though they were, during Samsung's live presentation of the Fold in London gave me reason to be wary. First and foremost, the inner display of the device never seems to fold out to be perfectly flat. Light reflections glinting off its surface in the presenter's hand exposed a slight ridge in the middle, a spine where the hinge resides and disturbs the flat plane. The left and right wings of the opened Galaxy Fold also reflected light at different angles. I know from my experience with the Royole Flexpai, the first foldable phone, just how hard it is to combine folding and flatness in one device. Judgment should be reserved until we've had a chance to hold one in our hands, but my first impression is that the Fold doesn't always have a perfect, undisturbed 7.3-inch tablet surface. It's a compromise.
Galaxy Fold will amaze you. Here's why you won't buy one
Also at Reuters, Bloomberg, and Wccftech.
Apple supplier Corning is working on flexible glass for foldable displays
Corning, the glass manufacturer that currently provides Apple, and many other smartphone makers, with Gorilla Glass for its phones, is working on a bendable version of the glass that could be with us in less than two years. In an interview with Wired (via MacRumors), Corning general manager John Bayne said that the challenge was creating a glass that's thin enough to bend without sacrificing the resilience needed to protect a display.
In 2017 Apple said it was investing $200 million in the company to "support Corning's R&D, capital equipment needs, and state-of-the-art glass processing." Patents filed by Apple suggest that it's already investigating the area, while a report published last year claimed Apple could release a foldable device as early as 2020.
[...] Bayne notes that the company is targeting a "3- to 5-millimeter bend radii" for its 0.1mm thick glass, which could allow a foldable phone to be as thin as 6mm to 10mm with the folding screen wrapped around the outside. For reference, the iPhone XS is 7.7mm thick.
[...] The company already produces the bendable Willow Glass, which can be rolled up like a sheet of paper. Unfortunately, its current manufacturing process makes it impossible for use in phone screens, since it has to be dipped into a salt solution. This would corrode the transistors that would need to be in the glass if it was meant for a display, according to Bayne.
We'll call it... Glastic.
Also at Ars Technica, Engadget, CNBC, and Notebookcheck.
Reviewers are breaking Samsung's Galaxy Fold smartphone after just a day or two of use. Some have accidentally removed a protective film that Samsung warned should not be removed, but others, including CNBC and The Verge, have seen the devices break after normal use:
The phone has only been given to gadget reviewers, but some of the screens appear to be disconnecting and permanently flashing on or off.
The Verge's Dieter Bohn posted earlier on Wednesday that his phone appears to have a defective hinge with a "small bulge" that he can feel that's causing the screen to "slightly distort." Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says his "review unit is completely broken just two days in," but noted he accidentally removed a protective film on the screen.
YouTube tech reviewer Marques Brownlee also removed the film and experienced a broken display. A Samsung spokesperson had warned on Wednesday not to remove the protective layer.
However, CNBC didn't remove that layer, and our screen is now also failing to work properly. When opened, the left side of the flexible display, which makes up a large 7.3-inch screen, flickers consistently.
Previously: Samsung Announces the Galaxy Fold, a Phone-Tablet Hybrid Device
A Bunch of Mobile World Congress 2019 Stories
Samsung delays Galaxy Fold indefinitely: 'We will take measures to strengthen the display'
Samsung has confirmed reports from earlier today that it is postponing the release of its $2,000 Galaxy Fold foldable phone only days before it was originally scheduled to go on sale. "We want our customers to have the best experience possible which is why, after initial feedback, we have decided to delay the release of the category-changing Galaxy Fold to make sure it measures up to the high standards we know you expect from us," the company said. "We plan to announce the [new] release date in the coming weeks."
Earlier today, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Fold won't hit shelves until sometime in May at the earliest, but Samsung is giving itself plenty of leeway with its non-committal timeframe. In an email to customers who have already preordered the Fold, the company said they can expect a revised update on shipping details in two weeks (which would be May 6th). US carriers AT&T and T-Mobile are also slated to carry the premium device.
See also: A Broken Galaxy Fold Is Bad for Samsung—and Even Worse for Folding Phones
Galaxy Fold review: A lot of money for a prototype
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is a flawed glimpse at the future
Galaxy Fold review: Should you pay $2,000 for Samsung's delayed folding phone tablet?
Previously: You're Folding It Wrong: Tech Reviewers Break Samsung Galaxy Fold after Just Days of Use
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday February 12 2020, @01:33PM (3 children)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 4, Funny) by choose another one on Wednesday February 12 2020, @04:37PM (2 children)
Price might be outrageous, but it looks like it'll about the same as the current Moto Razr.
Niche? - the flip phone format has some big big inherent advantages, snap it shut and the screen is instantly protected, throw it in a pocket with your keys, it'll fit, in fact you may well have to fish around in the pocket to find it.
I still do miss the flip phones I had in the early part of this century. I'm not paying a grand plus for a new one, but there are probably plenty people like me but with way more money (or less sense). That's the market, well that and old school trekkies. Kirk out [one handed snap close].
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday February 12 2020, @10:07PM
Of course, there's the internet now, and my phone is an essential part of that, so the above won't do any more. I'm on a resistive touchscreen presently which scratches very easily, and am running out of spare parts. No phone fits my personal needs nowadays, so I just hope it/they will last.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday February 13 2020, @12:04AM
A quick search show I had one of the original Motorola RAZRs, which was a pretty good phone. The Kirk out! snap made me very cool, at the time. (Or not)
From the reviews I have seen the new Motorola RAZR is a terrible device though.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 12 2020, @02:53PM (2 children)
And people are blathering about how Apple is crazy expensive?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday February 12 2020, @05:17PM
It could be an indication of another Galaxy Fold style public beta test.
*CRUNCH* OW!
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Wednesday February 12 2020, @06:15PM
Just because another company makes even more crazy expensive phones does not mean Apple is not crazy expensive.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.