Samsung are currently the largest retailer of consumer handsets in the world and consequently sell far more Android operated phones than any other manufacturer. Perhaps more surprisingly, they are currently challenging Apple for the top spot in the number of phones sold each year. The Korean company is currently at the cutting edge of phone technology, and often introduce hardware a generation ahead of Apple. How many of us have overheard an Apple user being told just how long Samsung phones have had wireless charging?
But Samsung haven’t always been the tech savvy company they are today, and had things not changed from their pitiful first attempts at Android decides then I sincerely doubt they would be a significant force in the smartphone marker today. But don’t just take my word for it have a look at the reviews online for the handsets prior to the Galaxy S5, they really wont fill you with any confidence. When Samsung first introduced these handsets, the smartphone marker was young and people didn’t really know what to expect from their devices. However, when Samsung released the S5 and it crashed and burned they realised that they couldn’t keep offering subpar phones into a market that was rapidly becoming saturated with great pieces of tech.
So Samsung went back to the drawing board and indeed right back to the basics. They broke down and assessed what people really wanted and expected from a phone and as a result ended up producing the S6 – an excellent piece of tech, even by today’s standards. And since this change they have never looked back. Constantly bringing out great new phones that offer more to the consumer than a lot of their rivals. If the rumours are true, then we can expect bigger and better things on the horizon, or should I be saying the same size but just with more screen?
From an outsider’s glance, it seems Samsung are setting up for a new and exciting future and in doing so they are setting the trend for many other manufacturers. Why do I say this? Well it’s because Samsung are going to be bringing the first fully folding and flexible Super AMOLED display Smartphone to the consumer. The new Samsung Galaxy Model X will revolutionise how we currently use our phones and tablets.
Samsung Galaxy Model X. When will it be on the shelves?
Right at this moment no-one is very sure on what Samsung have planned in terms of dates, however it is strongly rumoured that they have run successful Bluetooth testing on the handset, so hopefully it’s not too far off. Other rumours claim that it may be ready for release at the end of 2017, although we think this may be a bit on the optimistic side.
Either way, we hope they run a couple of extra tests on the batteries to avoid any unfortunate issues. Whilst Samsung tend to have many more handsets on the market at one time than Apple do, we do wonder if the Galaxy Model X will spell the end of either the S series or the Note series. If little information is released by Samsung over the next few months, then we expect that they will use the Mobile World Congress summit at the end of February next year to announce the Galaxy Model X as they’ve used this summit previously to announce the launch of their S range of Galaxies.
So, with all of these new ideas flying around we thought it could be fun to have a look at what the new face of the company will be – will they be maintaining consumer tech, or create a rocket and build a new world?
What makes the Samsung Galaxy X such a big deal?
The huge changes that Samsung will be promoting with this new foldable tech is the fact that you won’t need a phone, tablet and television anymore if you can fold your television into your pocket and take it to the shops with you as your phone. Well ok that may be a bit of an exaggeration, however who is to say that it wouldn’t be possible one day?
There is also a secondary rumour going around that Samsung may be launching a second folding handset later this year, which will be a 5″ device but will unfold into a 8″ tablet. This is a very cool idea but we will have to wait and see in anything comes of it. At the moment people seem to have a similar view towards their tablets as they would to a computer – only updating as and when they seem to lose functionality due to the age of the device. However, by combining a phone and a tablet into a proper handset it means that people will be more likely to update them in 24 month cycles.
I think that with the way Samsung are looking to change the industry we could likely see big changes in the coming years i.e. dropping all dedicated Smartphones and tablets and combining them into one folding device that will offer the functionality of both depending on the occasion for when you are using it.
Lenovo have already brought out a concept very similar to this. Check out this Youtube link for more information.
But will Samsung do this for all of their handsets? We think probably not. The price of this folding tech to start with will be high, and there are many people who just want a phone. It’s likely that Samsung will continue the J range of handsets to cater for this market segment.
So in conclusion, we are really excited that foldable tech seems to be well on the way. However we do have a couple of reservations about how most of the other tech in a phone being solid will add to the complications in making a high quality foldable phone. We’re not saying it’s not possible, but it will take a lot of time and effort for the designers to make a foldable handset that doesn’t compromise on quality or looks. On top of this, we can’t really see everyone using these devices for a good couple of years due to the price and the functionality that they will be able to offer. But let’s keep our fingers crossed because we really do like the idea of only having to purchase one piece of tech for our houses.
