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Remember when cell phones first came out they were huge, then there was a race to see who could make the smallest phone. Then smartphones came along and they have been steadily growing in size to the point that there are phablets. When cell phones first came out they were flip phones, and now flip phones are making a comeback because everything that is old is new again. There are reports that Apple is working on a foldable flip phone.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch reports that Apple is developing a foldable iPhone that will be available in 2020. Apple is said to be working with its partners and suppliers in Asia to introduce a new foldable smartphone that will depart from the usual iPhone design.
“We expect the iPhones this fall to be largely unchanged for the OLED versions although size changes have proved to be a catalyst in the past,” analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a note to clients on Friday. “Our checks also suggest that Apple is working with suppliers on a foldable phone (that potentially could double up as a tablet) for launch in 2020.”
With phone screens utilizing OLED technology more and more, it opens the door for flexible displays to be manipulated and bent. At the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, LG unveiled a 65-inch TV that rolls up like a poster.
Last August, Samsung unveiled a new flip phone called the Leader 8 that conjured up memories of the Motorola RAZR.
The Android-based flip phone features a dual-display – one on the front and one on the inside. Both displays are Full HD Super AMOLED screens, and the front display provides users with quick information such as the date, time, and call reminders.
Samsung has been working on a foldable or bendable smartphone for years and teased a new prototype last October.
The dual-screen smartphone called the Samsung Galaxy X, which is said to have two OLED displays, was expected to come out this year, but it has been delayed and now it “might be years” until we actually see a foldable smartphone from Samsung. Just like flying cars, bendable phones are always promised to be right around the corner.