The struggle to perfect the Samsung Galaxy Fold smartphone has led to rumours the sequel will offer a slightly different take on the new form factor.
Recent reports have suggested the Galaxy Fold 2 will be more akin to what we’re hearing about the return of the Motorola Razr, with a vertical fold across the display, rather than a horizontal split.
The problems with the original had led to speculation the company might not even launch a sequel, but a new report from the Far East says Samsung is pushing ahead with the Fold 2, with a release scheduled before next simmer.
Related: Foldable phones you’ll love or hate
The new information comes via Digitimes sources in Taiwan, which speaks of hinge manufacturers upscaling production capacity, in order to cope with the expected demand for foldable phones next year.
The MIM (metal injection molding) hinges are primarily built by Taiwanese companies like SZS, Jarllytec, Sinher Technology and First Dome, the site says. The latter of which provided the hinge for Huawei’s Mate X smartphone.
That hinge is built using up to 100 sub-components, according to the report, and is key to enabling the functionality of those flexible OLED displays.
Currently, the majority of the hinge-makers’ capacity has been exhausted by Apple, which uses MIM hinges for MacBook laptops and the cases for the AirPods earbuds, and other makers of 2-in-1 notebooks.
Samsung will release a clamshell foldable phone with 6.7-inch OLED display next year, Korea's Electronic Times reportshttps://t.co/exPJlzST29 pic.twitter.com/hq5EoQv3mV
— Ben Geskin (@BenGeskin) June 25, 2019
If Samsung does indeed ditch the first Galaxy Fold design following the issues it had in bringing the phone to market, we’d love to see the firm adopt a clamshell form factor.
The renders we saw for the return of the Razr had our mouths watering, whereas the Galaxy Fold left us with more questions than answers. Which of the designs would you like to see represent the future of the foldable phone? Drop us a line @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
