More on “Project Valley”
Shares of Samsung Electronics Co. and their suppliers are on the rise amidst rumors that the tech company may release two smartphone designs with a bendable screens as soon as next year.
Sources close to the company, which has codenamed its developments “Project Valley,” say that Samsung may release a phone that can fold in half, like a makeup compact. Another model has a five inch screen that can expand to eight inches, making it resemble a tablet.
To hit the market by 2017
Apparently, there were some kinks to work out when it came to making durable, transparent, and bendable plastics.
Rumors have been swirling about bendable phones for years, but insiders say that Samsung has achieved the goal.
Apparently the company has patented a roll-able screen technology, and displayed a bendable phone at a recent tech conference. It seems likely that Samsung may bring a mass-produced flexible phone to the market by next year.
But could it go against Apple?
Experts predict that Samsung may aim to release their new bendable phones in February 2017 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This would give them a head start over Apple, who will inevitably produce a new line of phones as well. Samsung has previously been one of the biggest suppliers of chips and displays to Apple, but around 2011 the companies became embroiled in legal battles over patent infringement, and are now competitors more than collaborators.
This one-of-a-kind foldable phone technology could help pull Samsung out of its two year slump, and could win customers back from Apple.
Lee Seung Woo, an analyst from Seoul, where Samsung is based, predicts that “this product could be a game-changer if Samsung successfully comes up with a user interface suitable for bendable screens.”
The new bendable technology won’t be applied to Samsung’s Galaxy series, and instead will sell under the name “Note 7.”
