The smartphone industry (and the electronics industry at large) has keen eyes set on Samsung and its upcoming foldable phone. However, despite, Samsung CEO DJ Koh’s admission back in August that the company is committed to keeping the title of “world’s first” folding smartphone – it might be another smartphone company that gets a foldable device to market before Sammy.
Chinese device manufacturer Huawei has its sights set on releasing a foldable phone before Samsung has the chance.
Now, we knew Huawei is working on its own foldable phone. But the kicker is that Huawei is allegedly prepared to beat Samsung to the punch at all costs – even if the device simply isn’t ready for market.
According to Jeff Pu, an analyst with Yuanta Investment Consulting, Huawei is likely going to push its foldable device very early next year. He said, “[Huawei] wants to be the first in the industry, even if the display technology from its panel supplier might not be that ready like Samsung.”
Huawei CEO Richard Yu also confirmed that the company is working on a 5G foldable phone. When asked about foldable phones at the Mate 20 Pro launch event, the CEO answered: “We are working on foldable phones. Foldable phones with 5G.”
We have long known that Huawei is working on both foldable phones and phones that support 5G. However, this is the first time we have seen the two technologies linked by the company.
Previous reports have suggested that Huawei could release its foldable phone at the beginning of next year. On the other hand, Huawei has said its first 5G compatible device won’t launch until June 2019.
This could bring up the possibility that the company is working on two versions of its foldable phone: one with 5G support and one without. Alternatively, the release date of the foldable phone could quite simply have been delayed, something that wouldn’t exactly be unheard of in the world of foldable devices.
Giving its foldable phone 5G support makes a lot of sense for Huawei. The company is heavily invested in 5G technology and, as well as its phones, it is — sometimes controversially — involved in the supply of 5G infrastructure equipment.
The first 5G networks are currently set to begin operation by the end of the year. As well as Huawei, Samsung, LG, and ZTE are known to be working on phones that are 5G compatible.
For now, it seems likely that we will see some sort of foldable device in early 2019, either from Huawei or Samsung. Who knows, maybe another company will beat them both to the punch.
