Samsung plans to introduce a smartphone with a curved glass display next month, the company announced at a media event Wednesday in Seoul.
Samsung executive , speaking to Reuters in an interview, did not give any other indications about the flexible screen. The vague reference to “curved display” may not necessarily mean that Samsung’s “next big thing” will bear a flexible display however as the company had experimented with phones with a slightly curved glass screen in the form of the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus in the past. Those models did not have a flexible display panel underneath though the screen had a slight curvature.
No other details on the handset were revealed. It’s unknown whether by “curved display” Lee is referring to a much rumored smartphone with a flexible display. Samsung, which overtook Apple as the world’s most profitable smartphone maker in July, first showed off a prototype flexible AMOLED screen at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2011.
Samsung’s Nexus S was the first smartphone to offer a “Contour Display” that was designed to fit more comfortably in your palm.
Samsung is not alone in exploring curved displays. Earlier this year it was reported that Apple was experimenting with wristwatch-like iOS devices that sport curved glass.
Samsung also announced this morning that it will offer two gold variants of the Galaxy S4, a clear attempt at copying Apple’s iPhone 5S gold color, which instantly deflates any goodwill over the company exploring new glass form factors. Since they’re being promoted on Samsung’s United Arab Emirates social accounts, the company likely won’t offer them worldwide.