Foldable Phones: A Revolution in Mobile Technology?

Recently, a relatively unknown company introduced a foldable phone, and shortly after, the major company Samsung unveiled a foldable device that can function as both a mobile phone and a tablet. Samsung has described this phone as the beginning of a new revolution in mobile technology. At the 2018 SDC conference, Samsung showcased a mobile device that, when closed, is a phone and, when opened, transforms into a seven-inch tablet. This foldable phone is named 'Infinity Flex'. When folded, this tablet becomes a mobile phone with a smaller screen than most current phones, easily fitting into a pocket. However, the thickness of this phone is significantly greater than that of current phones. Samsung utilized flexible display technology for the design of this product. To create the Infinity Flex display, the company developed a new protective layer using special polymer materials. This layer is both flexible and durable. Samsung announced that with the help of Google, it has developed an Android operating system that supports foldable displays. In this type of display, several applications can be designed to have different functionalities when the device is opened and closed. This is due to the vertical and horizontal orientation of the application user interface. Two screens side by side allow for running two applications in a suitable screen space or running one application on a larger screen like a tablet. With the arrival of these devices, it may signal the end of tablets, and with the expansion of digital pens, these devices could also replace notebooks for various users. The Samsung device is not the world's first real foldable phone; rather, a lesser-known company named Royole introduced its foldable product just days before Samsung's announcement. People who do not perform heavy tasks on their personal computers may also permanently switch to these new systems, and with the introduction of such devices, the world may look different in five years, just as it changed ten years ago with the arrival of the iPhone and a shift in perspective towards mobile phones. It is said that this phone will hit the market early next year. However, the Samsung device is not the world's first real foldable phone; a lesser-known company introduced its foldable product just days before Samsung's announcement, which was not very aesthetically pleasing and had considerable thickness. Some analysts believe that Microsoft's main competitor in the foldable phone market is Microsoft itself. Reports indicate that Microsoft is nearing the completion of the 'Andromeda' device. This device has two displays connected by a special hinge. The two displays are closed at a zero angle and become a small notebook at an angle of 90 to 120 degrees, with one screen acting as a keyboard and the other as a display. At 180 degrees, it becomes a tablet, and at 360 degrees, it can be used like a mobile phone. There are many contradictory reports about this device; some say Microsoft has abandoned its development, while other sources indicate that Microsoft is still addressing issues. The company has registered several patents for this phone, but it is unclear whether these patents have come close to reality. Photos of this device have been released, but we cannot independently confirm or deny them. For several years, the development of smartphones has been limited to increasing their screen sizes, software or hardware development, and adding more cameras. However, it cannot be denied that the performance of these phones has significantly increased compared to ten years ago, and many of today's phones are more powerful than many laptops from a decade ago. Yet, an exciting event has not occurred in the mobile world for a long time, and perhaps the emergence of foldable phones, whether by Samsung, Microsoft, or any other company, could transform the technology world a bit. This is similar to what Microsoft achieved with its Surface device, which took a step forward in the tablet market with the introduction of hybrid tablets. However, this step was not very successful due to the increasing use of mobile phones.