Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is said to be working on a new supersized foldable smartphone to succeed the Galaxy Fold.

That’s according to a report in South Korean paper ET News that was picked up today by Business Insider, which also claimed the device will be based on a flip-phonelike design. Whereas the Galaxy Fold opens horizontally like a book, the rumored in-development handset is said to fold vertically.

The leak is noteworthy because ET News has a fairly reliable track record when it comes to reporting on upcoming Samsung devices. Plus, the description lines up with a March report from Bloomberg, which cited sources as saying that one of the Galaxy Fold successors the company is working on folds vertically.

Today’s leak claims that the device features a 6.7-inch primary display and a 1-inch external screen that can be used when it’s folded. The latter screen’s size means it would likely to limited to only basic tasks, like checking notifications. The unnamed sources who provided the information said the handset is about the size of Samsung’s current Galaxy S10 5G flagship smartphone.

As the name implies, the latter device supports 5G, a wireless networking standard being rolled out worldwide that is expected to speed up mobile connections dramatically. There’s a good chance the foldable smartphone will support the technology as well when it hits the market. In Samsung’s native South Korea, where 5G has already been rolled out to over a million consumers, the Galaxy S10 5G reportedly accounts for 80% of all new Galaxy S10 units sold.

The foldable smartphone might also be more affordable than the Galaxy Fold since it’s described as considerably smaller. The Galaxy Fold has a primary 7.3-inch display, a 4.6-inch secondary screen on the outside and a $1,980 price tag.

Samsung was forced to push back the launch of the device in April  because design defects caused the primary display to malfunction. According to at least one report, the company has since ironed out the issues, but there’s still no official word on when the Galaxy Fold will become available for order. 

Photo: Samsung