‘s head of mobile has revealed plans to expand the flexible screen concept beyond smartphones to include tablets and PCs, following the launch of their fifth iteration of
foldable phones
–
Galaxy Z Fold 5
and
Galaxy Z Flip 5
– last month.
In an interview with The Independent, T M Roh revealed that Samsung is working on creating a foldable tablet and laptop. “Foldables will expand to other categories like the tablet and PC and continue to develop after,” said Roh.
He said that the technology used in foldable smartphones will soon extend to these devices, and Samsung is dedicating significant resources to their development. The company aims to introduce these products only when ready to offer consumers meaningful innovation.
“What has been applied to the smartphone will then spread to the tablet and laptops as well. To that end, we at Samsung are investing a lot of resources. And once that foundational technology is developed and we believe that the product is ready to provide meaningful innovation to consumers, then, of course, we want to introduce them,” Roh said.
PC manufacturers, such as
Asus
and
Lenovo
, have been toying around with the concept of foldable laptops. But there have not been as many
foldable laptops
as how many foldable phones have popped up lately. According to Samsung, the tablet is an ideal product category to apply the foldable format.
According to Roh, books are opened for reading while notebooks are used for writing. Their ability to be folded shut when not in use or during travel enhances their portability and protects vital information. Such behaviour is inherent to human nature. Thus, a foldable tablet and laptop makes a convincing case due to its long history and the human nature of reading books and using notebooks.
Roh did not provide a specific timeline for releasing these new foldable products. Still, Samsung already showed off some prototypes for a folding tablet and laptop last year, so they may come out sooner or later.