Recent leaks have revealed that Samsung’s next foldable will likely be a clamshell-style phone instead of a tablet that folds into a smartphone. Live images of the foldable surfaced Thursday on the Chinese social media platform, Weibo, showcasing a handset with signature branded apps, such as Samsung Pay.
The leak comes not long after the release of another clamshell-style foldable, the Motorola Razr. The device, which may be called the Galaxy Fold 2, is expected to be one of many new foldable released in this form factor after 2019 proved to be a cumbersome year in terms of larger style foldables that double as tablets.
Samsung has mentioned it aims to sell at approximately 5 million foldables in 2020, some of which may be at a budget-conscious price point. Many have noted that the leaked device doesn’t have the premium look, typically associated with Samsung flagships.
The leak reveals that the smartphone will feature a bottom facing speaker and a USB-C port; however, it won’t include a headphone jack. The leak also reveals a small outer screen and camera module. Currently, nothing else is known about the device, in terms of hardware and other specs.
Samsung has teased throughout 2019 that it has such a device in its release pipeline. Samsung spoke of experimenting with different foldable form factors at its developer conference in October.
There is no word on when Samsung may announce and release its next foldable smartphone; however, there are several industry events coming up that could serve as good launch revenues. CES 2020 takes place in early January, while Mobile World Congress takes place in late February. Samsung may also announce its next Galaxy S11 flagship series in the February time frame, which could also serve as an ideal time to showcase a new foldable.
