Samsung and LG are both supposed to grace the market with foldable phones in the second half of this year. Samsung will reportedly release a device that starts with two screens folding out, and transforms into a 7-inch tablet. A week ago, LG was awarded a patent (US D776,074 S) for a “Mobile Phone” featuring a new design that allows the upper part of the phone to be folded. The patent was filed on January 7th, 2015, and was approved on January 10th, 2017.
LG and Samsung both took the first steps toward a foldable smartphone (baby steps, to be sure) in 2013 when each released a smartphone with a small but noticeable curve.
