Samsung is expected to launch a new folding smartphone at the Samsung Unpacked event on February 11, and it seems it may not be called the “Galaxy Fold 2”. Instead, some leaked marketing information claims the new foldable phone will be called the “Samsung Galaxy Bloom.” But is everything as it seems?
The newly leaked marketing comes from Korean news agency Aju News, and it shows an exceptionally blurry image of a folding phone. While it’s clearly a folding phone, it doesn’t fully match earlier renders we’ve seen of the device. It also doesn’t seem as if the bottom part of the screen folds up far enough to touch the top of the phone’s display. While the orientation of the image could be to blame, it seems as if this device is intended to fold into three sections (admittedly, this is a design Samsung has patented), rather than the two we’ve seen in other leaks.
The Aju News article offers up more potential red flags. According to the article, this covert snap originates from a private show at CES 2020, where the new device was shown off to select Samsung partners and carriers. It goes on to claim the new horizontal fold was inspired by the powder compact of beauty giant Lancome, with an aim to expanding into the market of 20-something women, who have apparently avoided most smartphones until now.
While this could well be true, it’s an odd choice. Folding smartphones sit on the bleeding edge of smartphone advancement, and are expected to stay a fairly niche product for the foreseeable future. Folding phones are expensive to create, and while the second folding Galaxy phone is expected to be cheaper than its predecessor, it’s still likely to cost more than $1,000 and stay within the realms of seriously early-adopter tech.
In addition, the name itself is suspect. “Bloom” has been accepted as the codename of the device for some time now, but that doesn’t mean it will be finalized as such. As noted leaker Max J. points out, manufacturers often use a device’s codename in early briefings. So even if the leaked image is real, the device’s final name may be something else entirely.
Where do those doubts leave this leak? It’s definitely worth waiting for corroborating evidence before proclaiming this as clinching proof. It’s likely we won’t have to wait long before more rumors and leaks trickle through though, as the reveal event is scheduled for February 11.
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