The big picture: Last week brought news that Samsung’s foldable Galaxy X smartphone would launch next year and be priced at close to $2000. The company has been working on a flexible device for years, and we recently saw what’s alleged to be one of its previous efforts.
Slashleaks reports that the images come from a Chinese Twitter user who claims this is Samsung's Project V, aka Project Valley, smartphone, which the company said would arrive in 2016. The poster claims the model number is SM-G929F, which matches the unreleased phone’s code from 2015.
Unlike the upcoming Galaxy X’s flexible OLED screen, this abandoned version looks very much like ZTE’s Axon M that launched last year. Both devices are essentially two displays attached together using a hinge. While it may sound like the design has potential, the Axom M received numerous poor reviews for being an “ergonomic nightmare,” as well as its inability to use both displays for one app, the poor battery and camera, and more.
Samsung Project V
— 萌萌的电教 (@MMDDJ_) 16 June 2018
SM-G929F
CANCEL pic.twitter.com/NhBLH6grZK
Like so many things on the internet, there’s a chance that this could be a fake—perhaps photoshopped or something put together using old Samsung phones. Either way, its resemblance to the Axon M is undeniable, so it being a genuine, albeit canceled, product is not beyond the realms of possibility, though some of the images are a bit suspicious.
Samsung president of mobile, Koh Dong-jin, has confirmed that a bendable phone is coming, but we’ve heard no official word on release date or price.
https://www.techspot.com/news/75127-foldable-smartphone-samsung-never-released.html
