Samsung finally unveiled details about its foldable smartphone — here's how it works

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November 7, 2018 9:52 PM

Samsung showed off a foldable smartphone that it created using a new type of display called "Infinity Flex."

Samsung's foldable smartphone can unfold like a book from a smartphone into a tablet.

Samsung

Samsung finally revealed the first official details about its long-rumored foldable smartphone on Wednesday.

The phone, which is currently nameless, is essentially a clamshell device. There is a regular display on the front for standard smartphone use when the device is closed.

The magic happens when you open — or unfold — the device. The interior opens like a book to provide one seamless 7.3 inch screen, transforming the phone into a tablet.

Before Samsung showed off the device at the event, it kept the phone in a square case to conceal its design.

Samsung senior vice president Justin Denison said "Trust me, there's a device inside here [the case] and it is stunning."

The foldable display itself is called "Infinity Flex." To create its Infinity Flex display, Samsung said it needed to invent and use new materials to make a display that can fold an unfold "hundreds of thousands of times" without breaking or becoming damaged.

Samsung also worked with Google to create a special version of Android designed around a foldable display design. One of the highlighted features announced at Samsung's event was "App Continuity" that allows you to use an app when the phone is folded, and continue using it when you unfold the phone in tablet format. The app would also enlarge itself to fill the tablet-format display.

Samsung's foldable phone. BusinessInsider

Samsung also mentioned its "Multi-active Window" feature that would let you have up to three open and usable apps on the unfolded tablet display.

null BusinessInsider

Little else about the device was shared by Samsung, apart from confirmation that the company will begin mass production in the "coming months." Denison didn't make it clear whether a phone with the Infinity Flex display will begin mass production in the coming months, or if only the display itself will soon be mass produced. There's still no word on pricing, design, specs, or final availability.

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