On October 31st, Chinese display start-up Royole launched a foldable smartphone FlexPai. So, Samsung missed the chance to launch the first flexible phone. However, because of a weak folded part, wrinkle, and most of all, it is not folded perfectly, so it is hard to expect the perfection. Though the first foldable phone is not perfect, it accelerated the competition between companies.

▲ Royole`s foldable phone, FlexPai

▲ Samsung`s foldable phone, Galaxy F

To begin with, there are a lot of companies that are developing their foldable phones. First, Samsung opened their foldable phone at the SDC in San Francisco Moscone Center in November 11th, 2018. Samsung Electronics' senior vice president opened their foldable phone and said that it is finally here. People catch on fire by the speech. It is called 'Galaxy F'. It is 4.58 inches in smartphone size and 7.3 inches in tablet size. The full screen can split into three screens which can use three different applications at the same time.

▲ LG`s foldable phone

Also, Huawei is a powerful rival with Samsung. After Royole's FlexPai is launched, people started to focus on the degree of completion of the product. It becomes five inches in smartphone size and eight inches in tablet size. Huawei did not open its concrete information. It is expected that Huawei will open the information in NWC 2019. LG Electronics is also expected to open their foldable phone in MWC 2019. Some experts say that LG looks to link two displays rather than fold one display. According to the USPTO, which is the patent office of US, Google's foldable phone looks like they attached two smartphones. The up and down in connection point is hollowed, so it looks like a wallet.

More and more companies are researching about foldable phones, and they are expected to launch their foldable phones this year. It could fail because it is thick and folded point, and the display can be damaged easily. Most of all, it is too expensive. To get over these disadvantages, companies should focus on the degree of completeness and satisfaction of consumers.

January 12th, 2019

by Seonghyeon Park