Samsung has been working on foldable smartphones since several years. During a press conference on Tuesday to address the arrival of Galaxy Note 8 in India, Samsung Mobile’s president, DJ Koh has confirmed that the company would be debuting its first foldable smartphone in 2018.

Foldable Galaxy Note Phone

According to Koh, there are some obstacles that Samsung needs to resolve in order to release its foldable smartphone. However, the company has set a goal of debuting the highly anticipated foldable smartphone in next year. The launch will only happen after all the pending issues with the smartphone are dealt with. Koh did not reveal any information on the problems that they are facing with it.

Analysts have revealed that it will take some time to mass produce a foldable phone with thin design and topnotch features. Since the time company showcased a flexible display prototype named Youm in 2013, tech enthusiasts are eagerly to hear more information on the first foldable phone from Samsung. In the past two or three years, the rumor mill have claimed that the South Korean firm will be showcasing its foldable phone soon.

Read More: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Durability Tests; Find Out Whether it Fails Tests for Scratch, Burn and Bend

In February this year, Samsung had trademarked the Galaxy X moniker. Speculations have it that the Galaxy X could be the upcoming foldable smartphone from Samsung. Some rumors have revealed that the South Korean company is testing a foldable phone that features two AMOLED screens that are connected with each other by means of a hinge with a fold-out mechanism. The Galaxy X’s fold-out mechanism may possibly allow users to use it like a tablet by unfolding it. In July this year, the Galaxy X phone had received Bluetooth SIG certification which indicates that the launch of the Galaxy X is getting close.

Since Samsung is now pegged to introduce the Galaxy X foldable phone under Note branding, the phablet is likely to debut in the second half of 2018.

Bixby AI Speaker

DJ Koh has also revealed that Samsung is working Harman to build a speaker system enabled with Bixby artificial intelligence. User can speak to the speaker to play music or carry some tasks. Leading brands like Amazon and Google have already launched voice-assistant enabled speakers in the market. Apple’s HomePod is also expected to hit the market by the end of this year. However, there is no confirmation on when Samsung will be unveiling the voice-controlled speaker.

Galaxy Note 8 Market Response

As far as Galaxy Note 8’s market response is concerned, Koh states that even though it is an expensive Note series phone, the demand for the phablet has been phenomenal during its pre-orders. By Friday, 650,000 units of Galaxy Note 8 have been pre-ordered.

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Since a couple of months, more information has been surfacing on Samsung’s alleged foldable smartphone – the Galaxy X. The device is said to be codenamed as Project Valley that has been in works since over a year. The Seoul-based tech giant has trademarked the ‘Galaxy X’ moniker indicating that its release is drawing near.

The trademark was filed at KIPRIS (Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service) Previous rumors have stated that Samsung is working on two variants of its Galaxy X foldable smartphone. Both the rumored variants are Galaxy X1 with model number SM-X9000 and Galaxy X1+ with model number SM-X9050.

Related: Actual Galaxy S8 Surfaces; Reveals Front and All Four Sides in Multiple Photos

Speculations have suggested that the Galaxy X1 would be coming with a 5-inch foldable screen supporting 4K resolution and its fold-out mechanism would allow users it use it as a 7-inch tablet. It is pegged to be equipped with biometric sensors for fingers, face, iris and palm.

Rumors have revealed that the company had previously tested fold-in mechanism for Galaxy X, but now the foldable phone would be coming with outwards folding mechanism. The probable reason why it may have axed ditched the fold-in design is that it could be an inconvenience to the users to unfold it each time they wanted to see notifications.

The fold-out design for Galaxy X puts the screen on the outer side. This technique possibly allows the company with more options to display information on both the sides of the Galaxy X when folded

In the previous month, a leakster had revealed the company would be officially announcing its first foldable smartphone in the third or fourth quarter of this year. However, other sources suggest that the Galaxy X1 and X1+ would be releasing in 2018.

At the beginning, Samsung is reportedly aiming to release only 100,000 units of Galaxy X in a bid to gauge the market response. Rumors suggest that the South Korean company may have showcased in secret to investors at the ongoing Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017. Since Samsung has trademarked “Galaxy X” name, it is likely that its arrival of its first foldable phone is close at hand.

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