Mobile Technology

Samsung makes the curved-display Galaxy Round official

Samsung makes the curved-display Galaxy Round official
After a series of leaks, Samsung made the Galaxy Round, with its curved AMOLED display, official
After a series of leaks, Samsung made the Galaxy Round, with its curved AMOLED display, official
View 4 Images
After a series of leaks, Samsung made the Galaxy Round, with its curved AMOLED display, official
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After a series of leaks, Samsung made the Galaxy Round, with its curved AMOLED display, official
When lying flat on a table, you can tilt the Round towards you in order to see your notifications
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When lying flat on a table, you can tilt the Round towards you in order to see your notifications
The Round is a little thinner than the Note 3, at 7.9 mm
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The Round is a little thinner than the Note 3, at 7.9 mm
The Round also borrows the Note 3's faux leather backing
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The Round also borrows the Note 3's faux leather backing
View gallery - 4 images

Apparently some big companies have decided that curved displays are the next big thing. Just a few days after LG told us about its upcoming flexible displays, Samsung has done one better by announcing its first phone with a flexible display, the Galaxy Round.

The Galaxy Round is basically a Galaxy Note 3 with a curved display (and, as far as we can tell, without an S Pen). Like the Note 3, it has a 5.7" Super AMOLED display, only here it's using new flexible display technology. The phone itself, of course, isn't flexible, but the flexible display opens the door to its (fixed) curved state.

When lying flat on a table, you can tilt the Round towards you in order to see your notifications
When lying flat on a table, you can tilt the Round towards you in order to see your notifications

Samsung threw in a few software features that take advantage of the phablet's ability to tilt. When the phone is lying flat on a table with music playing, for example, you can tilt the device left to go back a track, and right to advance. There's also a feature Samsung calls the Roll Effect, which lets you check notifications when the screen is off by rolling the device slightly in your direction.

Otherwise the Round appears to carry over most of the features from the Galaxy Note 3, including its faux leather back, 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal storage, and 1080p display. It's a bit lighter than its non-curved counterpart, at 154 g (the new Note is 168 g).

The Round also borrows the Note 3's faux leather backing
The Round also borrows the Note 3's faux leather backing

It isn't clear yet whether customers are looking for a phone like this, but Samsung's marketing machine has a way of pitching new phones and features in ways that make them seem desirable. And, for what it's worth, the Round is using an excellent mobile device as its blueprint. It also isn't yet known what kind of global rollout the Round will get. As of now, it's only set to launch in South Korea for 1.09 million won (which converts to US$1,015).

You can hit up the embedded video below, for a sneak peek of the Galaxy Round's Roll Effect, demoed by a Samsung employee.

Sources: Samsung [1] [2] via Android Central

View gallery - 4 images
10 comments
10 comments
Simon Sammut
yes, yes, that's nice.. what would this add in landscape mode??.. you know.. the way most ppl watch media and such
palunel
Okaaay... so all the features of new this phone you could have achieved with just giving a flat screen phone a curvy back. Or am I missing something?
Mark Penver
erm fairly sure the interactions could have been done without the curved screen...
...also they should have curved it along the length not the width. Typical Samsung thinking; "Oh lets throw this new technology in here and f*** it if it doesn't work correctly or there's no real benefit for the user".
Curved displays have been built before with real consideration on if you have a curved screen, can you provide a better atmosphere. This is samsung doing it for the sake of doing it. No wonder the build qualities of their phones have been plastic lumps built on the cheap if they can't figure out how to use the technology.
P51d007
Personally, I see this as a gimmick, but, the introduction to flexible screens I guess has to start with baby steps first. I just hope it matures enough, so say in a year, I could get a smartphone, that has a 5-6" screen, but, when opened, a seamless 10-12" tablet. I would be all over that like stink on a hog!
RikJamez
.... and it is only $ 1000 ! What a deal !
Ian Mitko
This also makes it thicker. I thought everyone wanted thinner phones and tablets.
Derek Howe
Mark Penver - The curve arguement could go either way. With this curve is would be more comfortable in your pocket...since your leg is cylindrical... and as for when you hold up to your head...that curve could go either way...since your head is round...ish.
Danock
Is the flex screen less breakable?
Marcus Carr
I suspect that the point of curving it and particularly from left to right rather than from top to bottom is so that it fits in a pocket better, by hugging the curves. This makes the bulge smaller, so the phone is effectively thinner.
Gregg Eshelman
I want phones with real keyboards, and the rest of their specs as good as the best no-keyboard phones.