Samsung might finally drop their foldable smartphone this year
The flip phone is back, but not as we know it
The tech world’s rumour mill has been running wild with speculation for several years now with talk of a foldable smartphone from South Korean electronics giants Samsung.
The technology firm is believed to have been working on a smartphone that can be folded in half, but up until now there has been little sign of it actually coming to fruition.
However, according a report from Korean news agency ETNnews, it might finally be unveiled to the public later this year.
One of the only glimpses we’ve had so far came from a concept video shown by Samsung at the CES keynote in 2013.
Hang on though – foldable phones? We had those years ago, didn’t we? They were shit.
Well, as you can see from the video above, Samsung’s new design will be so much more than a simple flip phone.
Rumours suggest the the entire screen will be able to fold in half, allowing users to have a screen twice the size of a regular smartphone without having to regress to wearing baggy jeans in order to fit it into their pockets.
ETNews reports that Samsung showed an early prototype of the flexible device to some "major mobile network providers" at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, earlier this year.
According to Tech Advisor the project is alternately known as "Project Valley" and "Galaxy X".
Although Samsung has made no official comment about the reports, a patent application (pictured above) that came to light in November last year seems to give a pretty clear indication of what’s going on behind the scenes.
We’re still waiting for a date when the prototype will be unveiled but it’s probably wise not to crack your piggy bank open just yet, as all that bendy tech ain’t going to be cheap!
