Galaxy Fold 2 expected to debut in April with two big changes

Samsung is planning to release the next generation of its fodabe device the Galaxy Fold 2, codenamed "Bloom", in April next year, according to South Korean media The Bell.

Citing industry sources, the report claims the Galaxy Fold 2 will go on sale a month after the Galaxy S11 series hits the shelves in March.

The Galaxy Fold 2 may have either a 6.7-inch or 8.1-inch main display, according to the report. Samsung is said to be struggling to choose between the two sizes, although an earlier report had claimed the Galaxy Fold successor will have a 6.7-inch display.

If Samsung decides to go with an 8.1-inch display size, the Fold 2 could end up being even larger than the Galaxy Fold in terms of physical size.

The company is looking into using Ultra Thin Glass (UTG) as the protective layer to replace the transparent polyimide (PI) film currently used on the Galaxy Fold.

The report also said that the next Galaxy Fold won't be like the current Galaxy Fold. It will fold down vertically like a clamshell instead of like a book.

Samsung announced the first Galaxy Fold earlier in February but due to a series of problems, it didn't fully launch the phone until just last month.

With foldable smartphone shipments expected to hit 400,000 units this year, market research firm Counterpoint Research expects that number to grow to 3.2 million units next year and reach 27.1 million units by 2022.

Samsung is said to be planning to significantly increase its market share with the Galaxy Fold 2 in the foldable smartphone segment.

Samsung planned to sell 1 million Galaxy Fold handsets this year, the equivalent of less than half a percent of the 291.3 million smartphones it sold in 2018. Of last year’s the total, 12.8 million were Note series phones, one estimate showed.

But it met with embarrassment ahead of the device’s U.S. release on April 26, with a handful of technology journalists reporting breaks, bulges and blinking screens after just a day’s use.