The foldable phone that transforms into a tablet
Eat your hearts out, phablets

Each week, we spotlight a cool innovation recommended by some of the industry's top tech writers. This week's pick is a folding smartphone.
Samsung's new foldable phone is on its way to mass production, said Shara Tibken at CNET. The phone, which uses a technology called the Infinity Flex Display, becomes a tablet when fully opened. The screen technology lets you "open and close the device over and over without any degradation." The unfolded tablet has a 7.3-inch screen with a 4.2:3 aspect ratio. Folded into a phone, it's 4.6 inches, with a skinny 21:9 display.
Samsung says it represents "an entirely new mobile platform" that lets users "browse, watch, and multitask like never before." Whether it sells remains to be seen. It might be "a magnet for gadget lovers," but if it feels "bulky and hard to use," it may be dismissed as a gimmick.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The end of Weight Watchers
Talking Point The diet brand has filed for bankruptcy in the US as it struggles to survive in era of weight-loss jabs
-
Trump vs. China: another tariff U-turn?
Today's Big Question Washington and Beijing make huge tariff cuts, as both sides seek 'exit ramp' from escalating trade war
-
Syria's Druze sect: caught in the middle of Israeli tensions
The Explainer Israel has used attacks on religious minority by forces loyal to Syria's new government to justify strikes across the border