Smartphone innovation hinges on folding screen

Samsung previews Galaxy Fold

Associated Press

LONDON

When Samsung said this year it would launch a smartphone with a folding screen, the big question was whether the innovation was something people actually wanted or needed.

Is the Galaxy Fold a gimmick to help sell more smartphones in a slowing market or a true breakthrough that will change how we use our devices?

Major manufacturers have in recent years been largely updating smartphones with marginal improvements such as better cameras and face scanning technology, so skepticism has been high.

The South Korean electronics company this week offered the media a hands-on preview ahead of the release in the U.S. this month, and the first impression is that a folding screen in some circumstances might be a useful innovation – but at a cost of almost $2,000 it won’t be a mass market product anytime soon.