Samsung Foldable Phone

Samsung will unveil details of a foldable smartphone

later this year, the CEO of its mobile division told CNBC,

amid rumors that such a device was in the works.

DJ Koh said that "it's time to deliver" on a foldable device

after consumer surveys carried out by Samsung showed

that there is a market for that kind of handset.

Speaking to CNBC, Koh was tight-lipped on how the

folding screen could work but ran through the design

thinking of the upcoming smartphone, particularly how

Samsung is trying to differentiate the experience from a

tablet once it is unfolded.

"You can use most of the uses ... on foldable status. But

when you need to browse or see something, then you may

need to unfold it. But even unfolded, what kind of benefit

does that give compared to the tablet? If the unfolded

experience is the same as the tablet, why would they

(consumers) buy it?," Koh said at the IFA electronics show

in Berlin last week.

"So every device, every feature, every innovation should

have a meaningful message to our end customer. So when

the end customer uses it, (they think) 'wow, this is the reason

Samsung made it'."

The device may sound similar to a traditional flip phone which

relied on a hinge to connect the two parts of the handset. But

Samsung is likely to focus on creating an actual screen that

bends. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that an upcoming

foldable smartphone would use a single screen.