Samsung gives the first glimpse of its foldable smartphone

Samsung unveiled its much-anticipated foldable phone, urging Android developers to start writing apps for it.

According to the report from The Verge, the Samsung did not straightaway showed the device to the audience but kept the lighting dim so as to “protect elements of the design”.

Justin Denison, SVP of mobile product marketing, showed a device which was a tablet but could be folded into a candy bar-like device. Samsung describes its folding phone technology as Infinity Flex Display and said that mass-production of the device should begin in a “matter of months”.

Foldable phones promise the screen of a small tablet in a pocket-sized device. The phone can run three apps simultaneously.

Justin Denison, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics America’s Mobile Product Strategy and Marketing, showed a prototype with a screen he said measured 7.3 inches diagonally.

Dave Burke, vice president of engineering for Google’s Android software platform, told a Google conference in California that Samsung planned to introduce a new Android-based device early next year. “We expect to see foldable products from several Android manufacturers,” he said.