Report: Samsung preparing thousands of prototypes of its foldable smartphone

Samsung has reportedly been working on smartphones that use a foldable display for some time. Today, a new report claims the company is making a small but important step forward towards releasing that phone, which has been called the Galaxy X, to the general public.

According to the Korea-based website The Investor, citing unnamed sources, Samsung has put in orders for components that would be enough to make between 2,000 to 3,000 prototype units of the dual-screen phone sometime in the first half of 2017. These units are rumored to have two OLED panels that are connected in the middle with a hinge that can be opened 180 degrees.

The story says the ultimate plan for Samsung is to launch a smartphone with just one OLED screen that can be folded outward. The company has been working towards that goal for a number of years, if its many patent applications are any indication.

The Investor claims that Samsung wants to launch a limited number of units for its Galaxy X foldable smartphone sometime in the second half of 2017. However, the company has been silent on any such plans, so take this report with a grain of salt. It should be noted that previous rumors claiming Samsung might show off such a phone at CES 2017 or MWC 2017 were later proven to be false. More recently, Kim Tae-woong, Samsung Display’s principal engineer, was quoted as saying that its foldable smartphones will not be released before 2019.

Do you think that consumers would want a smartphone with a flexible or foldable display? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!