Samsung Foldable Galaxy X Phone Might Launch In Early 2019

Huawei might be the first to launch a foldable device, but Samsung may not be too far away. A new report claims that Samsung may be planning to start production of its foldable Galaxy X smartphone this November and release it as a pilot project in 2019.

Samsung has apparently shared its plans for its foldable phone to parts manufacturers. The parts associated with the device will allegedly form the foundation for the device and not parts associated with the final design of the product, according to The Bell.

An industry source claims that Samsung has not yet finalized the design of the folding smartphone and the company is still experimenting with infolding and outfolding designs. However, the final design of the device might be finalized this June.

Another important detail included in the report is the number of parts that were ordered by Samsung. Orders for this device is somewhere between 500,000 and 2 million depending on the specific part. Android Authority pointed out that Samsung typically orders around 10 million parts per quarter. The relatively smaller number of orders for parts suggest that this foldable Galaxy X phone might be a pilot project.

Samsung has a history of releasing pilot devices. The 2013 Galaxy Round was the first Samsung phone to feature a concave glass design. The following year, the company released the Note Edge, which was the very first handset to feature a curved edge display. In 2015, Samsung released the Galaxy S6 Edge, which arrived with a display that curved on both sides — a design now adopted by Samsung’s most recent flagship phones.

If Samsung is indeed starting its parts production this coming November, then the foldable Galaxy X phone might be released sometime in early 2019. The South Korean company’s plans could still change however, especially if it has to face any sort of technical or manufacturing challenges.

A 2019 release date for the Samsung foldable phone isn’t too farfetched either. Back in February, the same timeframe was also reported by IBTimes. Another thing to consider here is that Samsung has already shown off a prototype of the device during a private gathering at CES 2018.

Unfortunately for Samsung, it won’t be the first manufacturer to release a folding smartphone. That title is now expected to go to Huawei, which is currently rumored to release its foldable smartphone sometime in the tail end of 2018, possibly in November.