Samsung shows foldable smartphone but gives no details

Samsung has shown its first foldable smartphone at its developer conference. It has not given any further details of the device, such as what its specs are and when it will go on sale.

The bendable screen has a diagonal of 7.3″, Samsung said at its Developer Conference in San Francisco Wednesday evening. An earlier rumor spoke of a 4.6″ screen on the outside and that seems to be about right. The smartphone uses the foldable smartphone support that Google built into Android.

Samsung said it will show more of the smartphone with the Infinity Flex display in the next Unpacked event. The screen on the inside has no glass for protection, because glass is not bendable. Instead, there is a layer of polymer composite over the screen, with a film underneath that can absorb shocks. Samsung also had to adjust the adhesive to make the screen flexible.

Samsung has been using flexible OLEDs in its smartphones for several years, but they have been bent at the factory so far. Such a screen is included in the Galaxy S6 Edge, S7 Edge, S8 and S9. Other manufacturers also use the bendable OLEDs, including Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi.