Samsung May Announce Galaxy Z Tab Foldable Tablet Alongside Tab S9 Series

There have been a fair number of rumours surrounding the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series of tablets that are expected to be launching this year. This includes a possibility of there being five distinct models in the lineup in total, with two budget variants in addition to the base, Plus and Ultra models. More recently, an industry leakster has claimed that the South Korean tech giant may be launching another tablet at the same time. And this extra addition may be a foldable tablet, dubbed the Samsung Galaxy Z Tab.

The leakster in question is one Revegnus, who made the claim on Twitter. In an answer to a question in the replies, they claim that “There’s a really high probability that this will come out this year”. They also say that the alternative would be releasing it in 2024 instead, but doing so would mean that it will be “one of a bunch of foldables coming out next year”.

Beyond that though, there’s not much else in terms of details. Though if Samsung truly intends to launch a foldable tablet this year, then it will line up with a previous claim by another leakster. Last month, Yogesh Brar claimed that the company may be lifting the veil off of a tri-folding device sometime this year. At the time, it was unclear which form of tri-folding this device will end up sporting. During last year’s edition of CES, the company showcased two possibilities – one is an in-and-out double curve that resembles the letter S or Z, the other being a brochure-like inwards fold.

At any rate, we’ll likely have to wait until Samsung officially announces the Galaxy Tab S9 series of tablets first to see if the announcement gets a hitchhike by a Z Tab. And for now, even those don’t yet have a date attached to the event.

Oppo Debuts The Find N2 Foldable Phone

Oppo officially debuted the Find N2, its 2nd generation foldable smartphone for the market segment. A direct successor to the original Find N, the new phone comes with several upgrades and features.

Firstly, the Find N2 is slightly more narrow than its predecessor, with an overall thickness of 72.6mm when closed, which is 0.4mm thinner than the Find N. Oppo has also managed to reduce the weight to just 233g, which is just slightly above the weight of a pre-cooked steak. When opened, the entire phone’s thickness is 7.4mm.

Moving on, the Find N2 continues the compact foldable phone design with a new 17.7:9 aspect ratio, 5.54-inch cover display. While it sounds like a downsize from the 18:9 aspect ratio of the Find N, it does have thinner bezels and even supports a 120Hz refresh rate this round. Additionally, it also has a peak brightness of 1350 nits and is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus.

Unfolded, the main display of the Find N2 still measures in at 7.1-inches and even retains the same 9.6:9 aspect ratio. The screen is an LTPO panel, meaning that your refresh rate will range anywhere from 1Hz to 120Hz. Like the cover display, it is also very bright but has a higher peak brightness at 1550 nits.

More importantly, the Find N2’s Flexion hinge has also been vastly improved. Firstly, it now only uses 100 parts, down from the 138 parts that the original Find N initially had. As an indirect effect, the reduction of moving parts also reduces the overall weight of the phone. Further, the new hinge design also reduces the crease of the foldable display by 67%, thus making it less visible. Also, unlike its predecessor, it can now be folded into different angles.

Specs-wise, the Find N2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 SoC, supports Oppo’s 67W VOOC fast-charging technology, and has a 4520mAh battery internally. Camera-wise, main module houses a triple-camera array, comprising a 50MP main Sony IMX 890 sensor; a 48MP IMX581 ultrawide, and a 32MP IMX709 telephoto. All these sensors, by the way, are powered by the brand’s new MariSilicon X processor, co-developed by Hasselblad and designed with features like AI Noise Reduction, 4K Ultra HDR Video recording, and FlexForm Capture, to name a few.

The only thing missing from the list right now is local pricing and availability of the Find N2. We’ve reached out to Oppo’s local rep for the details, but even they are saying that they won’t be able to provide us the information until a later date.

Samsung Display Providing Foldable Screens To Vivo And Xiaomi

Recently, Korean news outlet ETNews reported that Samsung is selling its ultra-thin glass (UTG) to Google for an upcoming foldable phone. Now, another Korean news outlet, TheElec, reports that the company is also supplying foldable OLED displays to two other brands. They are Vivo and Xiaomi, which are also poised to release their own foldable phones.

The report states that Google’s device will make use of a 7.6-inch panel that folds inwards. No mention of a secondary display for this one as of yet. As for Vivo’s model, it is said to be getting an 8-inch main screen and a 6.5-inch secondary screen. No details on the new Xiaomi foldable phone, though.

Among the three brands now buying displays from Samsung, only Xiaomi has experience in making a foldable phone. The company announced the Mi Mix Fold back in March. Chances are we will see something similar when the new model gets released.

Incidentally, the report also says that the OLED panel production for all three companies will only start in October. The report goes on to say that all three will be revealed in the fourth quarter of the year. With both display production and announcement happening in the same time window, their availability seems unlikely to be within 2021.

Samsung Display Providing Foldable Screens To Vivo And Xiaomi

Recently, Korean news outlet ETNews reported that Samsung is selling its ultra-thin glass (UTG) to Google for an upcoming foldable phone. Now, another Korean news outlet, TheElec, reports that the company is also supplying foldable OLED displays to two other brands. They are Vivo and Xiaomi, which are also poised to release their own foldable phones.

The report states that Google’s device will make use of a 7.6-inch panel that folds inwards. No mention of a secondary display for this one as of yet. As for Vivo’s model, it is said to be getting an 8-inch main screen and a 6.5-inch secondary screen. No details on the new Xiaomi foldable phone, though.

Among the three brands now buying displays from Samsung, only Xiaomi has experience in making a foldable phone. The company announced the Mi Mix Fold back in March. Chances are we will see something similar when the new model gets released.

Incidentally, the report also says that the OLED panel production for all three companies will only start in October. The report goes on to say that all three will be revealed in the fourth quarter of the year. With both display production and announcement happening in the same time window, their availability seems unlikely to be within 2021.

New Samsung Galaxy Foldable Phones And Smartwatches Tipped To Launch In August

Samsung might be holding a launch event for four new products in August, according to two industry leaksters. The devices in question are believed to be the brand’s Galaxy Z Fold 3, Galaxy Z Flip 3, Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch Active4.

The first to relay this information is none other than Max Weinbach, who tweeted that the event (most likely a Samsung Unpacked or equivalent) will take place on 3 August 2021. The leakster did not name the brand or aforementioned devices specifically, but his vague hints were easily understood by other insiders and those familiar with the industry.

Meanwhile, the second source is YouTuber Jon Prosser, who claims that Samsung will ship the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 on 27 August, while the Galaxy Watch4 and Galaxy Watch Active4 may roll out as soon as 11 August. Keep in mind that Weinbach’s tip emphasises on the event date, while Prosser’s focuses on the products’ release schedule. But as usual, there’s still a possibility that neither information is accurate until officially confirmed by Samsung themselves.

In terms of hardware specifications and features, not much is known for all four devices. However, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 could be the more interesting of the bunch, as unofficial sources such as Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) claims that it will be Samsung’s first smartphone to feature its Under-Display Camera (UDC) technology. Allegedly leaked images of the foldable phone reveals a somewhat similar form factor to its predecessors, sans a punch-hole cutout or notch on its inner display which corroborates to the UDC rumour. 

Other than that, earlier leaks featuring the Galaxy Z Flip 3 shows, again, a similar form factor to foldable’s predecessor, but now with  a new tiny display on the exterior shell. Its internal hardware and camera capabilities are still unknown at this time. Oh, and another thing you may have noticed is its name. Chronologically, there was never a Galaxy Z Flip 2 that was released prior to this. But in favour of the foldable series’ numbering system, Samsung is said to have skipped a number for the clamshell smartphone. This isn’t the first time the brand has done this, as it previously allowed its Note series to skip a number and jumped straight to the (now infamous) Galaxy Note 7.

The lack of viable information also applies for the upcoming smartwatches, especially the Galaxy Watch Active4. In the Galaxy Watch4’s case, sources claim that it will be offered in two sizes: 42mm and 46mm, which comes with 240mAh and 350mAh batteries with 5W charging respectively. Aside from the usual features and health tracking capabilities from its predecessor, both versions of the Galaxy Watch4 was initially rumoured to come with blood glucose monitoring. However, a more recent report from a South Korean source suggests that Samsung might not proceed with this addition. As per Samsung and Google’s announcement during the latter’s I/O keynote, it is highly believed that the new Galaxy Watch4 and Active4 will drop the brand’s Tizen OS in favour for the newly introduced version of Wear OS.

With the tipped launch and release date still more than a month away, it’s possible that we might not hear an official word from Samsung anytime soon. On a somewhat related note, earlier rumours hinted that the supposed event was originally to include the unannounced Galaxy S21 FE as well. But that may seem unlikely, as newer reports are claiming that Samsung has delayed the phone’s production – which the brand itself seemingly denied.

BOE Showcases New 360-Degree Display Technology For Foldable Smartphones

Foldable smartphones have not become the norm for the regular consumer just yet, but that isn’t stopping manufacturers such as China’s BOE from innovating the foldable display technology. The company recently demonstrated a new 360-degree flexible screen that is able to be folded inwards and outwards, suggesting a potentially new multi-mode foldable phone approach.

As seen from the demonstration – a gif animation shared by Digital Chat Station on Weibo and later shared on YouTube by SparrowNews – BOE shows off the new display tech via a prototype phone that can fold inwards ala clamshell, assumingly for storage purposes. When unfolded, it is able to function as a tablet, much like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Huawei Mate X series. Lastly, the device can also be folded outwards from tablet mode, transforming into a familiar smartphone form which utilises only one half of the display.

According to MyDrivers, BOE is said to adopt a “multi-neutral layer model design” for its new display and multi-mode foldable phone approach. This effectively reduces the stress of flexible outward and inward foldings, as well as reduces the possibility of causing creases from each fold. The report added that the company claims the display is able to last approximately 200,000 folds throughout its use.

Keep in mind that the foldable phone unit used by BOE in the demonstration is merely a prototype, therefore it lacks features such as cameras and so on. At this time, no smartphone makers have confirmed to be adopting this technology or multi-mode foldable approach.

The future of non-conventional smartphones is looking to be more interesting as of late, thanks to the recent display technology innovations. Aside from foldable screens, brands such as OPPO and LG are also exploring different approaches for their future products, namely rollable displays.

As for whether which approach would soon dominate the smartphone market in the foreseeable future remains to be seen. And that realisation will also take some time as the prices of such devices are still within the premium range, which – as mentioned earlier – is still far from being affordable for most consumers.