“Project Valley” is the internal name for a new project at Samsung, which SamMobile claims is overseeing testing over a dual-screened phone
While LG might have professed its love for curves, Samsung looks to be working in another direction entirely. Fresh from releasing the Galaxy Edge 2 – which features two curved extensions to the main screen – the company are allegedly developing a foldable phone.
“Project Valley” is the internal name for a new project at Samsung, which SamMobile claims is overseeing testing over a dual-screened phone which is foldable along either a lateral or bilateral axis.
The device – which according to the report is still in early development – will apparently incorporate features that will allow gesture controls to dictate which screen is in use, as well as quick-switching between active screens.
It is presently unclear whether the ‘Project Valley’ handset will fold alongside a hinge of some form, or will be flexible in a similar fashion to some of the malleable displays the firm manufactures. SamMobile notes that an alternate alias for the project – Project V – might be named in reference to the shape the device makes while bent or folded over.
Samsung have previously gone on the record to state that the company will be able to produce a device that is completely foldable by 2016; it is possible that Project Valley might see the fulfilment of this promise. It is equally as likely that the project might be killed off before then due to its early stage of development.
While the goal of the project is indeed an interesting one, there isn’t an apparent use case for a foldable phone unless Samsung have identified an incredibly small product niche. Both the Galaxy Edge and Edge 2 have sported curved screens, but have not sold in significant number; both have been outsold by the relevant regular single-screen Galaxy S model at the time of launch.
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