- Samsung will release a foldable smartphone this year, DJ Koh, CEO of the company’s mobile division told CNBC.
- Koh said the company is focusing on how to make the unfolded phone different from a tablet.
- Koh said the device could be unveiled this year at the Samsung Developers Conference in November.
Samsung will unveil a foldable smartphone later this year, the CEO of its mobile division told CNBC, amid rumors that such a device was in the works.
DJ Koh said that “it’s time to deliver” on a foldable device after consumer surveys carried out by Samsung showed that there is a market for that kind of handset.
Speaking to CNBC, Koh ran through the design thinking of the upcoming smartphone, particularly how Samsung is trying to differentiate the experience from a tablet once it is unfolded.
“So every device, every feature, every innovation should have a meaningful message to our end customer. So when the end customer uses it, (they think) ‘wow, this is the reason Samsung made it’.”
Koh said the device could be unveiled this year at the Samsung Developer Conference in November in San Francisco. The mobile CEO admitted that while the development process is “complicated,” the company has “nearly concluded” it.
The move comes as Samsung looks to reinvigorate growth in its mobile division which saw sales fall 20 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2018. The South Korean technology giant is facing stiff competition from Apple and Huawei in the high-end of the market. A folding phone could differentiate it from its competitors and potentially allow it to charge a higher price for the unique device.
Koh also told CNBC that the company is changing its strategy in the mid-tier smartphone market to pack lower priced devices with new technology in order to appeal more to millennials.
