Samsung CEO confirms its foldable phone will double as a tablet

Samsung's foldable smartphone has been in the rumor mill for quite some time now. The company is said to be working on the device for the past two years. We will get to know more about the device at SDC 2018 next month. However, the phone will not be officially launched until next year.

Now, DJ Koh, president, and CEO of Samsung's mobile division has given some information about the device at the launch of Galaxy A9 in Kuala Lumpur. He suggested that the foldable smartphone will double as a tablet.

Previous reports have hinted that the smartphone will have a book-like form factor with a vertically foldable display. The in-folding design will hide the display completely when folded. However, there will be an external display while still in folded position. The smartphone is said to sport a 7.3-inch primary OLED display and a 4.6-inch external OLED display.

Koh didn't confirm the specifics of the display, however, he did hint towards a possibility of using the device as a tablet with multitasking before folding it up and using it as a smartphone. "When we deliver a foldable phone, it has to be really meaningful to our customer," he said, "If the user experience is not up to my standard, I don't want to deliver those kinds of products."

Koh has previously gone on record to say that the user experience that will be offered by the device has to be worth it for the company to make it official. He also said that the device will be a fully functional foldable phone, and won't be a gimmick. He also confirmed that the smartphone will be launched globally.

Koh also said, "I'm positive that we do need a foldable phone. Possibly when we start selling the foldable phone, it may be a niche market, but definitely, it will expand."

Earlier, there were reports claiming that the company is planning to advertise its foldable smartphone as 'the future,' with the company planning for "the future is here" slogan which was filed to protect with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).