Today is the day of the big iPhone announcement. And, like many people, we’re excited to see what Apple has in store for its next generation of smartphone products. But, Apple isn’t the only game in town anymore. The likes of Samsung have been big-time challengers for the smartphone crown for years now, and Samsung’s latest development (should it come to fruition) could be a major innovation in the smartphone game. It could also have a lasting effect on the promotional products industry.
Reports are coming out that the next Samsung Galaxy Note could feature a flexible display. TechCrunch reported that Samsung has its sights set on 2018 for the smartphone to include a “foldable screen.”
Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung’s mobile division, said at a press event in South Korea that the “phablet” has been in the works for a few years now. The company showed investors folding prototypes in 2013, and tested the concepts of bending screens at CES the same year.
Now, that sounds cool and all, but what does it have to do with the promotional products industry? Well, think about it. What’s one of the most popular smartphone accessories in the industry?
Cases.
If Samsung uses the new flexible screen technology as the main attraction in the Galaxy Note 8, that would mean that customers would want a case that bends with it. If your clients are handing out rigid cases for a phone whose fancy new feature is bending, end-users will be disappointed. So, that could take some adapting within the industry.
Samsung still has plenty of kinks to work out here, so it could be safe to take the 2018 release date with a healthy-sized grain of salt, but it’s clear that the South Korean company wants to make this happen sooner or later. And from there, we’ll have to adapt to consumer demand.
