Samsung may be working on a flagship-class flip phone

Clamshell phones fell out of style a while ago in favor of the “candy bar” form factor popularized by the iPhone and adopted by almost every modern smartphone. But there’s still a market for the older “flip phone” design that, until about 10 years ago, was the most common style in the mobile phone world. And it’s that market Samsung is targeting with a new device rumored to hit store shelves within the coming months.

The SM-W2017, as it's currently known, will feature:

• Dual 4.2-inch OLED displays
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 430
• 64 GB internal storage
• 12 MP rear-facing camera
• 5 MP front-facing camera
• 2300 mAh battery
• Wireless charging
• Fingerprint reader with support for Samsung Pay
• Water- and dust-resistant build

This is according to what an official of a Korean cellular carrier told ET News, a popular Korean tech site. The insider said, “I cannot confirm the launch date but the new phone will be launched soon in Korea…. The new phone will be priced higher than any other folder phones here. Depending on the pricing, there is a possibility that the phone will be launched as a special edition.”

This device would follow Samsung’s Galaxy Folder 1, a clamshell phone released in 2015 that also boasted smartphone features. The Korean tech giant also has plans to launch a successor, the Galaxy Folder 2, which will have a Snapdragon 425.

While there are benefits to the clamshell design that aren’t present in modern smartphone bodies, we have to wonder how popular flip phones will be. There seems to be a small pocket of users in Korea and Japan that crave the classic design though. Flip phones with smartphone features are still fairly popular in that region.

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