SAN FRANCISCO : Samsung Electronics Co will release its new foldable smartphone within the first half of next year, planning to deliver at least 1 million units to the market, its mobile business chief has said. After years of rumors and speculation, the foldable phone, which is a tablet when it is fully opened and becomes a smartphone when closed, was revealed during the annual Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday and Thursday. It uses a new display technology called Infinity Flex Display that allows users to open and close the device a countless number of times without degradation. “We can’t confirm the date but will release (the foldable phone) within the first half of next year,” Koh Dong-jin, president of IT & Mobile Communications at Samsung Electronics, said in a press briefing held in San Francisco on Thursday. “The first batch to be delivered will be at least 1 million, and the company is set to produce more if it’s well-received in the market.”

Koh said offering the first look at the long-awaited phone to its developers means that its foldable phone technology has come to a level for mass production.

“We would have long ago released a foldable phone if we were only interested in making a product that people would soon get tired of using,” Koh pointed out. “Samsung Electronics tried to pursue the best user experience with the foldable phone to take the lead in the market, taking into consideration the display, battery and size.”