Samsung seems to be more ready than ever to get its foldable smartphone on the market. More details about the Galaxy F have surfaced after Samsung showcased a prototype of the device at its Developer Conference keynote last week.
Samsung executives mentioned at the keynote that the Galaxy F may be announced at the manufacturer’s next Unpacked event. We noted that Samsung typically unveils its early-year mobile devices at the end of February or in March. Reports from Korean source Yonhap News now suggest Samsung is planning a March launch for the Galaxy F.
If true, this seems like a viable release schedule for Samsung. The manufacturer may release its Galaxy S10 flagship in February during the Mobile World Congress conference and then the Galaxy F would likely have a standalone launch in March, which benefits the company in several ways.
This would allow each device to get its own commercial shine. The Galaxy S10 is also an important device for Samsung, as it is the company’s tenth anniversary Galaxy S model. It is expected to introduce its own special features. It will keep Samsung in the news for an extended period of time during the first half of the year, as there will likely be two launch events and two market release dates to grab media attention.
With this method, Samsung has taken a page out of Apple’s playbook. In recent years the American rival has set separate market release dates for its devices. The iPhone XS and XS Max released in late-September, while the iPhone XR released in late-October, so just when major news about the first devices died down, the second device released.
Reports suggest Samsung may announce a 5G model of the Galaxy S10 alongside the Galaxy F; however, this doesn’t seem plausible as Samsung wouldn’t want to eclipse either device.
Samsung hopes to soon have mass production of its foldable displays up and running, but this doesn’t mean the Galaxy F will be available in every store upon launch. The manufacturer is expected to produce about 1 million units of its foldable smartphone, as it will be available as a market prototype.
The device is expected to sell for approximately 2 million won or $1,770. Prior reports have suggested that Samsung is preparing the Galaxy F firmware for markets including the U.S. and parts of Europe and Asia, but the manufacturer has not confirmed the markets where the smartphone will be available.
The Galaxy F will feature the Samsung Infinity Flex display, which is a 7.4-inch tablet screen that folds in half inwardly like a laptop or a book. The device will have a 4.6-inch cover display, which will allow the device to still be used as a smartphone. Samsung has also redesigned its user interface to be compatible with the Galaxy F. The new One UI interface is intended to be less detail-oriented and more intuitive than Samsung’s older software.
