Samsung really is working on a foldable smartphone – first photos of “Project Valley” leaked
Samsung is working on a top-secret foldable smartphone, given the codename “Project Valley”.
Photos reportedly showing the Korean tech giant’s prototype of the phone have ended up on Chinese social media site Weibo, alongside suggestions that the model could go on the market early next year.
If the sound of a “foldable” phone puts you in mind of early-2000s flip phones, think again. This would be something different entirely. The photos show a smartphone with a flexible screen folding over like a pocketbook.
The “Project Valley” phone has been hinted at before, although no photos have been available. But a Samsung executive told trade newspaper Business Korea in March that the “commercialisation of foldable smartphones will be possible in 2016”.
Samsung isn’t the only company racing to get foldable screens on the market, as LG reportedly has a flexible TV prototype on the way. But up until now these have remained firmly in the concept stage, whereas these photos show a product that appears to be nearing the mass market.