Samsung has long been rumored to launch its first foldable smartphone called the Galaxy X and while it was initially believed to be too futuristic to see the light of day anytime soon, the company recently confirmed that it is indeed working on a foldable smartphone and that it could launch it soon.
But what Samsung has been mum about all this time is the phone's launch timeline. Now, a new report suggests that South Korean tech giant could finally launch the Galaxy X in February next year at the Mobile World Congress event (MWC 2019). Samsung's next flagship and successor to the Galaxy S9 - the Galaxy S10 - will be announced a month earlier in January 2019 at CES.
This means the Galaxy S10 could launch a month earlier than the Galaxy S9 series which was introduced ahead of MWC 2018 in late February this year. But the Galaxy S10 might play second fiddle to the foldable Galaxy X which will most likely attract more attention and buzz.
Samsung has been reported to be working on the phone for a while now. However, the handset has always been shrouded in a cloud of mystery, and it was only recently that Samsung CEO DJ Koh formally confirmed its existence, months after reports started making the rounds the company held a secret unveiling of the Galaxy X to insiders and select members of the press at this year's CES expo in Las Vegas.
Meanwhile, Samsung will reportedly procure parts for the Galaxy S10 as early as October this year and the same for the Galaxy X will be assembled starting November.
The report from Korean publication The Bell, also suggests that Samsung has changed the supplier for the parts of the foldable smartphone which is now codenamed 'Winner' from the previous codename 'Valley.' The change in the codename is also major indicator hinting that the Galaxy X's launch is getting closer to reality and that the phone could be launched possibly at MWC 2018 or at an exclusive Samsung unpacked event prior to it.
Samsung's foldable smartphone project has been in development since 2015 and the name change to 'Winner' signifies that the project has finally graduated from prototypes and is getting ready for mass production.
Not much is known about the hardware specifics of Galaxy X as of yet, but the report suggests that the prototype, which was allegedly revealed at the secret showcase at CES 2018 had a total of three OLED panels each of 3.5-inch size. The front of the handset is made up by joining two 3.5-inch panels top create a 7-inch screen when extended. The other 3.5-inch panel will be at the back of the phone.
Regarding the Galaxy S10, there have been reports that Samsung has started to look for suppliers in order to find a feasible option to incorporate an in-display fingerprint sensor on the phone.
