Samsung will drop foldable phone when it can deliver the "best user experience"

While most of the focus on Samsung at this year’s Mobile World Congress has been on the Galaxy S9, that hasn’t stopped head of mobile at Samsung DJ Koh from talking about the company’s upcoming foldable phone.

According to CNET, in an interview at the event in Barcelona, DJ Koh said that Samsung is making progress on the device but that he needs “complete confidence that we’re delivering the best user experience when we’re launching a new category.”

While it is obviously good news that Samsung isn’t willing to rush the project, the downside is that he would not confirm whether or not the phone would be released this year as rumored.

Smartphones have been accused of treading water in recent years and failing to provide substantial innovations; a phone with a foldable screen would represent one of the biggest design changes we’ve seen in a decade. This likely poses plenty of challenges, not just in terms of making sure the hardware is right but also making sure that the experience of using the phone is one that users will enjoy.

Of course, Samsung isn’t the only manufacturer rumored to be working on a foldable phone. Earlier in the year, patents were leaked that appeared to show an LG phone with a foldable screen, while ZTE’s Axon M is a phone that folds in half, albeit with two separate screens.

While phones with foldable screens may still be some time off, if you really can’t stand the thought of another slate style phone, then Nokia is at hand with their recently unveiled 8110 “Matrix phone”. Its banana style is certainly a step away from what we are used to, although perhaps not in the way you might want.