Mobile rumours: Foldable Samsung phone, LG G Watch 2, Galaxy Note 4’s ultrasonic cover
The world of mobile news is scary and complicated, with rumours flying about all over the place about what the many different companies are planning on doing. If you don’t know what you’re looking for then chances are you won’t get very far, so to ease your burden here are some of today’s biggest mobile rumours.
1. The Galaxy Note 4 could get an ultrasonic cover
There are plenty of rumours discussing features of the Galaxy Note 4 that will help it stand out from the competition, like a curved display. None of them are quite so interesting as this one though, an ultrasonic cover for the visually impaired. What exactly does this mean? Well basically it’ll function as a sort of echo-location, using sound to detect nearby objects so that the user doesn’t walk into them. But the product description apparently states that it should never be a substitute for a cane or a guide dog, instead being an extra bonus.
This is very much a speculative rumour, and shouldn’t be taken as an absolute certainty, but it is nice to think that smartphones can be used to help people with disabilities — even if it’s just something small like this. [SamMobile via Ubergizmo]
2. Samsung has patented a foldable smartphone
When I say foldable smartphone I don’t mean a smartphone like the flip-phones of old (that’s already been done), I mean a smartphone that you can, literally, fold in half. Sounds incredible doesn’t it? Details about how this will happen without the phone breaking are not mentioned, but think how cool it would be to bend your phone slightly and negate the need for a stand altogether.
The patent was filed in February, so if it does ever see the light of day it won’t be for a while yet. Still, it’s exciting to think about. [Patently Mobile via Phones Review]
3. The LG G Watch 2 could well be unveiled at IFA next month
The LG G Watch isn’t exactly new, having only just been released a couple of months ago, but if the rumours are correct it seems that LG might be releasing an updated version at next month’s IFA conference. Details are scarce, but according t sources the watch will come with an OLED screen and a Qualcomm CPU.
If this is true, it shows that LG is following Samsung’s smartwatch release schedule of one every few months — a massive difference to the release windows we see with smartphones. Smartwatches are far from an exact science, so it makes sense that companies would release them in quick succession to test the market and find out what does or doesn’t work. This is still just a rumour, but at least we don’t have to wait very long to find out if it’s true. [The Korea Times via Know Your Mobile]
