Samsung Galaxy Fold Is Just The First Step, Future Foldable Phones Will Look Like This

In 2008, at an event gathering tech leaders and journalists, Nokia showed everyone an animated video, featuring what could be the most visionary concept for future foldable phones.

Nokia Morph

The video showed a slab of glass that is ridiculously thin. Each time users finish a phone call or sending a message, they can tri-fold the device to hold a smaller screen in hand and even wrap around the wrist to become a smart watch.

The research team at Nokia created the most imaginative rival to compete with Apple’s iPhone – Morph. Of course, the technologies available in 2008 were not advanced enough to bring Morph to life, it was almost a fantasy. However, the technology world understands how such science fiction can inspire actual products. And the flexible OLED displays that the coming phones will feature take us one step closer to that dream.

Right now, foldable phones have already begun to shift the whole phone industry as all major players are either working on or already shown off their own devices, although consumers perhaps haven’t had any idea why they would need one.

With the Galaxy Fold, Samsung is currently the leader in this game while rumors and news say Huawei, Lenovo, Xiaomi, and Motorola will enter the foldable game. Even Apple filed a foldable patent in 2017. On February 20, San Francisco, Samsung showed the world its Galaxy Fold which will officially come to the market on April 26. The phone is powered by a 7nm 64-bit octa-core chipset with 12GB of RAM and internal storage of 512GB.

Even Apple filed a foldable patent in 2017, though that doesn’t mean we’ll see its foldable phone soon.

In fact, the 2019 foldable phones will mostly be teasers and there are several reasons not to get one right now. When folded, they will be twice as thick as existing phones and when unfolded, they will be too big to fit our pockets. Additionally, due to powering extra screen, they will be battery hogs. And not many apps and software need to take advantage of their features. When folded, the phone showcases a 4.6-inch Super AMOLED screen, while it sports a 7.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED display when unfolded. The phone features a single front-facing camera and a triple-camera setup on the back. The Galaxy Fold runs on Android Pie 9 and packs a 4,380 mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy Fold

However, the point does not lie in the first models in 2019, but more the coming years when powerful designs like Morph will come true.

In the near future, anyway, the first foldable devices are likely straightforward. They may be bulky, a bit weird and costly, but people will buy them to their hands on the first touch of the future. There’s also hope in a few tech leaders who want to draw attention with their own foldable devices.

In the coming years, phones that can unfold into tablets may become much more functional and cooler. The thinness OLED display can convey will unlock some incredible options for phone makers. Notably, the device can't go with a case hence needs a tougher surface than current phones.

A prototype of Nokia Morph

The first models of foldable phones can unfold into a tablet, but the next generation will transform into wearables. According to a CNET report on Saturday, TLC is developing a smartphone which can wrap around the wrist to act as a smartwatch. Nevertheless, the vision for phones capable of turning into wearables is way beyond TCL's concept, considering the fact that Nokia already had thought of Morph ten years ago.

But it's still a miracle of modern days that we can carry a computer in our pockets. To put it in the same category as other phones is like calling the Space Shuttle a plane. Let's remember that what we couldn't have even imagined 20 years ago has come to our hands today.

Although we'll have to wait a little more to see what these devices will become another 20 years from now, let's look at 2019 foldable phones as the baby steps to a bigger future with the Nokia Morph.