Foldable smartphone receives Bluetooth certification

The phone, dubbed the Galaxy X, has been passed through the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The smartphone in question carries the model number SM-G888N0.

Samsung is working on a dual-screen smartphone and the company has shown interest to bring the concept to the market. Now a mysterious foldable smartphone has been passed through the Bluetooth SIG, the same certification body that regulates Bluetooth device standards. The certification reveals that phone has the model number SM-G888N0, which doesn’t correspond to any existing Samsung devices. This could mean that the alleged smartphone will be part of the new series that’s different from the ‘Galaxy’ and ‘Note’ lineup. Interestingly, the device with the same model number was previously certified by the Wi-Fi alliance. The phone was running Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

It’s also being said that the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has passed the device which uses the Bluetooth 4.2. It is possible that Samsung is still testing the device with some old specifications – and the final version will hit the market with Bluetooth 5.0. For comparison, both the Galaxy S8 and S8+ feature Bluetooth 5.0. The latest Bluetooth standard promises up to twice the speed of Bluetooth 4.2.

We’ve been hearing for months that Samsung is testing a foldable smartphone prototype with a dual display. This phone is said to have two flexible OLED panels connected by a hinge. According to a report from Korean publication The Investor, Samsung is already testing a dual-screen ‘Galaxy X’, and it may be an early version of the fordable smartphone. The South Korean company is said to have placed orders for the components necessary for ‘2,000-3,000’ prototype devices. More recent reports claim the device is intended to get launched between the third quarter of 2017 and fist quarter of 2018.

Other than Samsung, China’s Lenovo is also working to make a foldable smartphone a reality. Last week, the company showed off a functional version of Folio, the concept it announced in 2016. The Folio is a 7.8-inch tablet with a hinge that can be transformed into a 5.5-inch, dual-screen smartphone.