Samsung, Google and Foldable Phones: What Does It All Mean?
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For those who don’t closely follow phone-related news, it might come as something of a shock to learn that Samsung’s plans for its newest model involve a phone with foldable technology. Referred by the codename “Winner,” word has gotten out that the design and developmental stages are close to completion and in the near future, the plan will enter the production stage.
Samsung used social media to tease the reveal by making a change to its profile picture on Twitter. The new logo is depicted as being folded to fit into the frame. One would note the folding effect by seeing how the ‘S’ with the Samsung text is flipped midway. This is a clear-cut hint that the ‘hook’ for the new model is going to be that it’s foldable.
According to reports, you won’t need to unfold the phone every time you want to use it. This is because there would be a four-inch screen on the outside for any quick tasks you want to take care of. When you want to read or watch something, you can easily unfold the phone and make your life easier. As of yet, there is no official confirmation about whether the unfolded mode will be horizontal or vertical.
Now, where does Google come into the equation? Well, recently, the World Intellectual Property Organisation published a patent that Google filed with regard to folding phone technology. The patent itself isn’t related to technology being confined to a single phone. It’s more that Google has presented any and all possible solutions to make foldable technology practical.
The challenge posed by such ambitions is that a foldable phone needs to be able to withstand the wear and tear that comes from being folded and unfolded on a regular basis. When bent, the inner and outer layers are subjected to compressive and tensile stresses respectively. Constant folding risks damaging the polymer display components and the flexible printed circuit boards. The plan is to test out various solutions that might solve this issue.
Considering that this technology is being worked on by Google, there is a lot of speculation that the next Pixel is going to be foldable.
Furthermore, as per the patent, Google can collect royalties off this technology without having to make a phone. It is most likely this factor that has brought Samsung and Google together to create an innovative foldable phone. We will have to wait and see how it works out, but there is a lot of optimism for this partnership and the results it will yield.