Foldable screens, 5G technology and more advanced AI are key features of the future mobile phones according to Samsung. The company is one of the pioneers in the smartphone era and is celebrating this year that it is ten years since the first Galaxy phone was released. On February 20, Samsung will present its next generation of Galaxy during the event Unpacked, which is streamed live from San Francisco.
– The next wave of technological innovations will make the smartphone more central to our lives than ever before. In line with the maturation of mobile technology such as 5G, AI and AR, the user will be able to do even more with his phone. A larger display will be the key to accessing the smartphone experiences of the future, says Fredrik Pantzar, Head of Nordic Product Management at Samsung.
Samsung launched Infinity Flex Display on SDC 2018, a foldable smartphone screen that enables larger display. It was already in 2011 that the company showed off the first prototype of a folding screen, but it took seven years before the technology was sufficiently developed to be launched to end consumers.
– Developing a new form for the phone itself has been a central part of our innovation efforts. We started to explore how we could get around limitations related to the size of the screen and thereby expand the possibilities for what our users can do with their phones, says Fredrik Pantzar.
To achieve a foldable screen, Samsung has developed and invested in new materials that changed the entire anatomy of the smartphone screen. The folding screen has required a reconfiguration of the phone from the inside out to accommodate the battery, cooling system and camera inside a thinner unit.
– We have also developed a new intuitive UX to ensure that the apps have a smooth transition between the smaller and larger screen, explains Fredrik Pantzar.
Ten years of mobile innovation
Samsung early saw the potential of making the mobile phone a multi-functional device. The company released its TV mobile in 1999 and launched an LCD display in its True Color Phone as early as 2002. In 2006, the Samsung B600 came with a 10-megapixel camera and gave users access to high quality photography directly in the back pocket.
The first Galaxy device was released in 2010. The collaboration with Android and a strong belief in an open operating system marked the beginning of a decade of new technological innovations in the Galaxy era. With Edge Display, Samsung was able to bend a smartphone screen for the first time. With Infinity Display, the screen size could expand to a larger size than the phone itself.
– We expect to see major changes in the physical shape of the smartphone over the next few years. From rollable and extendable units to telephones that can be folded more times than is considered possible today, says Fredrik Pantzar.
Samsung today has hundreds of millions of smartphone customers worldwide. During the year, the company’s 5G products and foldable display technology will be launched to end consumers. Most recently, we have seen Samsung bring the launch of the Samsung galaxy s10 plus 512 gb which is evidence of Samsung’s great innovation.
