Samsung’s new foldable ‘flip phone’ could come in 2020

Because Samsung’s first foray into foldable phones went so well, it’s reportedly working on another, smaller model — this time with a luxury fashion brand. 

Samsung has a high-tech version of a flip phone in the works, reports Bloomberg. It will boast a 6.7-inch vertical display that folds in half vertically, becoming a square, and mimicking the satisfying action of a flip phone. Samsung will reportedly unveil the phone in early 2020.

This “clamshell” foldable phone was first reported in March, and information has continued to leak in the months since. The new report gives more details about the phone’s specs, and how Samsung hopes it will appeal to luxury shoppers.

The glass of the new bendy phone would reportedly be just 3 percent the thickness of typical smartphone display glass. It will have one front-facing and two rear cameras (the back cameras will appear on the front of the phone when it’s folded). 

The phone is also getting some high fashion pizzaz. The menswear designer Thom Browne, whose label is owned by iconic suitmaker Zegna, has collaborated with Samsung on the phone’s design. This is part of Samsung’s reported attempt to position the revamped flip phone as a luxury good.

However, the report of yet a second foldable phone seems pretty rich after Samsung bungled the release of its Galaxy Fold so badly earlier this year. After problems with the screen rendered the phone fatally flawed, Samsung delayed the release date multiple times, and had to redesign the protective film encasing the phone. The Fold has been a no-show for months, despite Samsung’s promises that it’s on the way. The most recent reports say that it could launch this week.

A smart flip phone with a full touchscreen definitely has an appeal. Other phone makers, like Motorola and its new Razr, appear to have similar models in the works. But Samsung still needs to prove foldables as a functional concept before it can even think about getting fancy.