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Rumored Galaxy X's foldable phone screen specs: 7.3-inch and 4.5-inch

Samsung slipped out a few more details about the phone rumored to be called the Galaxy X or Galaxy F.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Expertise Content strategy, team leadership, audience engagement, iPhone, Samsung, Android, iOS, tips and FAQs.
Jessica Dolcourt
2 min read
foldable-phone-spec

Samsung showed this on screen in an afternoon session at its developer conference.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Samsung dribbled out a few more details last week about the foldable phone destined to shake up the smartphone industry in 2019. 

The foldable phone will use two displays, members of Samsung's system software group said at an afternoon session for developers. There's a 7.3-inch interior display you see when the phone's fully unfolded in tablet mode, but when you close it up, a 4.5-inch exterior screen acts like the smartphone that's already in your pocket.

Watch this: Galaxy X foldable phone FAQ: Specs, release date, price

Samsung wouldn't reveal any further details about the handset's hardware but did concede when I asked if the screens could be made of different materials. My guess is that we'll see Gorilla Glass cover the 4.5-inch screen and a type of plastic cover the interior screen. 

Although several brands are working on thin, foldable glass that can withstand bending hundreds of thousands of times without breaking, there's a strong chance that Samsung could follow in the footsteps of the Royole FlexPai foldable phone and use a type of polymer, a plastic, to cover the display material below. On Tuesday, Royole showed the FlexPai to a group of journalists in San Francisco. This device is on preorder in China and available to developers globally.

foldable-phone-multi-window

Apps will be able to work three different ways on the foldable Samsung phone's screen.

Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

In addition, the 7.3-inch screen will be able to split into three active areas at once. For example, you might see a full-screen spread. Or, the screen might split into two areas, where you're able to view a sidebar. Let's say you want to message and see two other apps at once. You'd be able to multitask with all three on the foldable Galaxy phone.

That's Flipboard's initial vision for its app on Samsung's foldable phone, which the news aggregator shared at Samsung's behest to inspire app developers to make their own programs work on Samsung's foldable phone and future phones , too. Google's support for Samsung's foldable phone is key, because it widens support for multiple active Android windows on this type of hybrid device. 

Samsung's foldable phone is here, with brand-new One UI for Android

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Samsung and Google want you to jump seamlessly from using an app on the 4.5-inch screen to pick up exactly where you left off when you unfold the phone and start using its 7.3-inch display.

Samsung also revealed more details about the foldable phone's aspect ratios and resolution. 

7.3-inch display specs

  • Resolution: 1,536x2,152
  • Screen density: 420 dpi/ppi
  • Aspect ratio: (4.2:3)

4.5-inch display specs

  • Resolution: 1,960x840
  • Screen density: 420 dpi/ppi
  • Aspect ratio: (21:9)
Watch this: Samsung's foldable phone will use One UI

Published Nov. 7 at 4:47 p.m. PT and updated most recently Nov. 14 at 3:00 a.m. PT. 

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