The South Korean giant Samsung, as a rule, presenting their new products either at major international exhibitions, organizes for this purpose a dedicated event. Organized Samsung Developers Conference in turn traditionally is of no interest to the average consumer. It are going to be developers who show new software products and tools through which they can create new software products. But this time the conference promised to be something special, because that week in a row to her Samsung is actively hinted at the fact that will show the long-awaited folding smartphone. Smartphone, more precisely, a kind of device with the same name, really showed, but it’s safe to say that people were not waiting for such a presentation.
The company began with stories about his plans for the conquest of the apps market, announcing that the digital platform presented a year and a half ago virtual voice assistant Bixby will now be open to third party developers. Itself Samsung the integrated digital assistant in a variety of products of its own design, ranging from smartphones and ending with TVs and refrigerators. Now this opportunity will receive third-party developers who will be able to implement a system of Bixby in their hardware, thus having the opportunity to create their own ecosystem of products.
In the near future, Samsung is also planning to increase the number of supported languages Bixby adding to the list of German, Italian and Spanish. In addition, a native Bixby localized version for Spain and the UK. These localization was already available, but only for the American market.
After the story about the digital assistant was followed by a display of the device, remotely resembling a folding smartphone. Based on what was shown at the conference and as it was shown (in dim light), the device is still at a very early stage of development, because when folded, it literally looks like a small brick with an external display. Something like this has happened in one of the exhibitions MWC, when we showed the prototype device, which then turned into a Galaxy S8 (though not immediately).
The device can unfold. To do this, Samsung invented a new technology, called Flex Infinity Display. In the unfolded state, the gadget flaunts a large, rather a mini tablet and not a phone with a square screen size of 7.3 inches.
During the demonstration, it was shown that the device is capable of simultaneously displaying up to three applications. This is achieved by using software technology, which Samsung called the “multi window” (multi active window).
According to the man who showed the device, the company intends to mass-produce Flex Infinity Display “in the coming months.” However, he did not say when the market might be waiting ready to sell the device, not just a concept in the form of a brick with two screens.
It also became known that Google intends to support emerging devices Android operating system. Currently the company is actively collaborating with Samsung to launch first smartphone in the next year. Google supports developers with tips and plans to assist in the adaptation of existing features in Android devices with folding screens.
Samsung is not the only company on the market, working on the emerging devices. Similar developments involved, for example, Huawei is planning to release its first device of this kind as well next year. Lenovo and Xiaomi also began to hint that work in this direction. And that LG is busy creating the emerging OLED displays for TVs that can be rolled into a tube if you get bored.
Even Microsoft is working on a folding device with multiple displays, apparently, which is a modern embodiment of the old concept of the Courier. Head of Microsoft Surface Panos Panay said earlier that the folding Surface “his favorite child”. Others are less well known manufacturers also began to show their concepts and practices of emerging devices.
In General, there is a new trend. Next year we will definitely see on the market a variety of foldable smartphones, tablets and many other products.
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