Samsung Rumored to Launch Another Foldable Phone This Year

Samsung is rumored to launch a third foldable device later this year, but this time around the phone may have a rollable or scrollable screen. Reliable Twitter tipster Ice universe on Thursday said Samsung's "mysterious third foldable device" is set to be released in the second half of this year, adding that there's a high probability of it being a "scroll screen phone."

While Ice universe says that the phone is set to be released this year, supply chain analyst Ross Young suggested the device may have been pushed back. "We previously had the Samsung slidable starting production by the end of 2022, then we heard it was pushed out," Young said in a tweet, adding that he'd have to confirm "if it was pulled back in or not."

At CES earlier this year, Samsung showed off some concept foldable phones, including one where the phone's screen expanded to the right with an unrolling motion. Samsung called the concept the Flex Slidable, but wouldn't say if the device would actually make it to the company's product line. It's unclear if the rumored new device would use a similar design. 

Samsung didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The newer foldable phones from Samsung, the Z Flip 3 and Z Fold 3, have been more popular than their predecessors. According to the company, these foldable phones sold more in their launch month than their predecessors did in all of 2020. 

While foldables continue to garner popularity, companies are tinkering with what could be the next frontier in display tech: rollable or scrollable screens. LG showed a concept of a rollable phone at last year's CES and, to boot, it began selling its first OLED rollable TV at a whopping $100,000. TCL followed suit in showing a rollable phone concept at this year's CES. Even Apple submitted a patent for a flexible screen, indicating that a foldable or rollable iPhone could be in the future.

While these rollable phone concepts haven't made it into product lines yet, rumors suggest they could end up in our pockets and purses within the next few years.