While Samsung is skipping its Galaxy Note series this year as a result of the chip shortage, the company is apparently going to bet heavily on foldables, with its plans for 2021 including a new Galaxy Z Fold, a new Z Flip and a double-fold device.
Nikkei Asia reports that Samsung has these three devices on its schedule for 2021. It was almost certain that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 2 (or 3) would make their respective launches during the calendar year, but this latest report adds more credit to previous rumors.
Most notably, however, is the revelation that Samsung is apparently working on a “foldable” smartphone. Although most details about the device are not mentioned, Nikkei says it can see a release date later this year. Apparently, a goal of the new design is to make the fully unfolded screen reach a 16: 9 or 18: 9 aspect ratio to avoid the scale problems present in the current Galaxy Z Fold 2.
Samsung has patented some foldable smartphone designs before, including one that emerged in late 2020. This design saw a large device with two “panels” that could fold on the sides, expanding the size of the overall screen or folding all way back to back. A speculated design utility was to use one of the two smaller panels as a keyboard with the rest of the screen showing the content, possibly positioning the new form factor as one for productivity. This patent was first created in 2018, so it’s perfectly possible that Samsung could have it ready, at least in smaller quantities, by the end of this year.
In addition, this report also states that Samsung is looking to increase production and sales targets for folding in 2021, possibly to match what the Galaxy Note series would have sold. A source said, in contradiction to Samsung’s previous statement, that the decision to skip the Note this year was “practically decided” in 2020.
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