Anchor: The world’s leading smart-phone manufacturer Samsung Electronics has unveiled its latest foldable phone. Samsung’s Chinese rival Huawei will unveil their new folding device next week and both companies are expected to fuel competition in the global smartphone market. 
Choi You Sun has the details.

Report:

[Nat sound: Samsung product launch event in San Francisco (Feb. 20)]

Samsung Electronics drew cheers from the audience at its latest Unpacked events in San Francisco and London on Wednesday as they unveiled the highly anticipated Galaxy Fold.

The seven-point-three-inch tablet device can be folded to fit into a pocket.  

During the presentation, chief executive Koh Dong-jin said Samsung collaborated with Google and the Android developer community to ensure apps and services for the Galaxy Fold would be available.

[Sound bite: Koh Dong-jin, President & CEO of IT Division, Samsung Electronics (English)]
"There is only one way to achieve this. It takes open collaboration across a broad ecosystem of partners who believe, as we do,in innovation without barriers. Partners who share our vision for technology that serves your unlimited capacity to imagine new ways to experience the world." 

During the event, company officials demonstrated how the foldable device allows users to multi-task by opening three active applications simultaneously on the main display. 

[Sound bite: Justin Denison, Senior Vice President of Product Marketing, Samsung Electronics America] 
"When you stumble across an interesting Facebook post on the front of the display, you can simply unfold your phone to see all the details on the bigger screen. It is amazing."

Samsung said its newly-invented polymer layer has made it possible to create a display 50 percent thinner than previous models and that they have adopted hinge technology to open the foldable device seamlessly.

The Galaxy S10 series will hit shelves on March eighth in South Korea and the U.S., while the Galaxy Fold will be available in the U.S. on April 26th and mid-May in South Korea. 

While Apple is reportedly lagging behind in the development of foldable phones, Huawei, Xiaomi and other Chinese smart-phone manufacturers are scheduled to unveil their latest products at the 2019 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain starting on February 25th. 
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.