Update (October 2026): Samsung’s clamshell concept became a real phone. Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Flip on February 11, 2020, and the Z Flip series has continued ever since, with models such as the Galaxy Z Flip7 in 2025. The Motorola Razr mentioned below was announced in November 2019.
“Clamshell” is the name of a new smartphone concept from Samsung. The Galaxy Fold has been on sale for a while now, after its early problems were fixed and it was launched again. So what’s next for Samsung in foldable phones? It looks like the company is thinking smaller. The Galaxy Fold is a smartphone that unfolds into a tablet. Samsung’s next foldable could instead unfold into a normal smartphone, flip phone style.
In this article
A foldable that works like an old flip phone
Samsung showed the concept to the attendees of its developer conference (SDC19) in October 2019, and the Samsung US Newsroom shared a sneak peek on Twitter (see below). It brings back memories of the flip phones we used years ago, from brands like Motorola or LG. The clamshell uses the same idea.
In the teaser, Samsung compares the current Galaxy Fold with the upcoming clamshell model to show how the interface resizes when the clamshell device is partly folded. It’s an interesting form factor, and the rumored Motorola Razr was expected to use it too the following month.
Because it folds vertically instead of horizontally, the device keeps a normal smartphone size and aspect ratio when it’s open. That should make it feel familiar to use and give a more comfortable aspect ratio for watching movies. Once folded, it takes up much less space.
Why the clamshell design makes sense
The clamshell could be a good compromise between the Galaxy Fold’s productivity and the comfort and familiarity of a traditional phone. Samsung also teased some new tricks, such as folding the phone halfway so it props up the camera during a video stream. And because its screen looks smaller than the Galaxy Fold’s, it could come at a lower price.
Attendees of #SDC19 got a sneak peek at a brand new form factor Samsung is exploring for the foldable category of devices. #SamsungEvent pic.twitter.com/rGtpvNj0SJ
— Samsung US Newsroom (@SamsungNewsUS) October 29, 2019
When would it come out?
Unfortunately, Samsung didn’t share much beyond the teaser. There was no word on when we would hear more, or even confirmation that the device would ever be released: Samsung only said it was “exploring” new form factors. Still, since the company was encouraging developers to make their apps ready for the new folding design, I expected to see it within a year or two. As the update at the top shows, it arrived only a few months later.
For more Samsung news from 2019, read about the Samsung Galaxy S11 rumors and leaks.
Sources: , GSMArena, The Next Web
