A New Form Factor
Samsung Electronics has unveiled a clamshell foldable smartphone at this year’s Samsung Developer Conference in San Jose, California.
The company recently registered patents in the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for the new form factor folded and unfolded in the same way as feature phones. It is expected to come with three rear cameras, one front camera and two cameras that can be used when the screen is unfolded.
What Samsung Electronics is planning to do with the new form factor is to further solidify its leadership in the global smartphone market. The company released the Galaxy Fold last month, marking the beginning of the era of foldable smartphones. At present, a large number of manufacturers are challenging Samsung Electronics with their foldable smartphones.
For example, Huawei is planning to release the Mate X, which is folded outward, in China next month and the Mate Xs in March next year. Motorola is expected to unveil the Razr V4, another clamshell smartphone, on Dec. 13.
Another interesting point is which will release the world’s first smartphone that can be folded twice. Samsung Electronics already obtained patents for a Z-shaped phone and a phone that can be folded twice inward. Xiaomi unveiled a phone of that type early this year and TCL, a Chinese TV manufacturer, also unveiled a prototype of its Z-shaped phone.