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Good fold times: Galaxy X enters mass production

Dubai - It's widely speculated that the external screen is at 4.5 inches, while the internal ones clock in at a combined 7.3 inches.

Samsung may have duped a good number of us with its purported Galaxy Blade Edge back in April Fools' Day 2015. This time around, it's no joke.
Media outlets have reported that the highly-anticipated Samsung Galaxy X, which is said to be a foldable device, has entered into mass production, stirring hype among the tech community.
Basically, the gizmo is something that you can open up, turning a smartphone into a mini-tablet. Kind of like the Nintendo DS, only the screens are practically glued to each other.
But this could depend on the two options that are apparently in the works.

The first has three screens: when closed, you can use its external screen, and opening it reveals two more; think of it as a regular smartphone that you can open up.
The second is more interesting: there's no external screen, but there's a visible sidebar on the right. Of course, you can open it up, too.
It's widely speculated that the external screen is at 4.5 inches, while the internal ones clock in at a combined 7.3 inches.
Of course, this would also mean a bulkier device, and questions about its battery life are being raised, since more of it would be used with more parts - particularly, the screens - using it. It's also unclear what type of displays will be used.
Also a big yet unconfirmed detail: the Galaxy X could be unveiled in January 2019, ahead of the what is most likely the Galaxy S10 and S10+ at the Mobile World Congress in February.
The prototype of this device was teased by Samsung way back in the 2013 edition of the Elec-tronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. It isn't a surprise, though, that it took a while for it to get to the production line, given the intricacies of how it would be built.
It's also a given that this wouldn't be the last foldable phone we'll see: LG, Huawei, Motorola and Apple are all said to be working on their own versions.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com