Samsung foldable phone: Price and release date revealed in leak

The price of the new 'Galaxy F' smartphone will be around that of a high-end Apple iPhone

The name, price and release date of Samsung's mysterious foldable smartphone have finally been revealed, according to a South Korean news agency.

Samsung teased the device at its annual developer conference last week, saying it will serve as the "foundation of the smartphone of tomorrow" – though few details about the phone were actually revealed.

The so-called Galaxy F will be released in March 2019 and is expected to cost 2 million won (£1,370), the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported.

The Galaxy F will be unveiled alongside the Galaxy S10 smartphone at Mobile World Congress in February, it reported, citing industry sources.

At last week's event, Samsung said its foldable phone will feature an Infinity Flex Display that will allow the device to transform from a tablet to a phone.

When folded, the phone will fit "neatly inside" a jacket pocket thanks to the innovative display, Samsung executive Justin Denison.

Samsung also introduced a new interface design called One UI, which will be rolled out in conjunction with the foldable smartphone.

"Samsung continues to build on its legacy of category-defining form factor and display innovation that has paved the way for a breakthrough foldable smartphone form factor," the firm said.

"The Infinity Flex Display together with One UK delivers a new kind of mobile experience allowing users to do things they couldn't do with an ordinary smartphone. Users now have the best of both worlds: a compact smartphone that unfolds to reveal a larger immersive display for multitasking and viewing content."

Justin Denison, Samsung Electronics senior vice president of Mobile Product Marketing, speaks during the unveiling of Samsung's new foldable screen smart phone (REUTERS/Stephen Lam) (Reuters)

Samsung had been teasing the foldable phone for years before finally sharing some of its features at the Samsung Developer Conference 2018, however a small California-based startup pipped the South Korean electronics giant to the unveiling of the "world's first commercial foldable smartphone."

Just a week before Samsung's event, Royole revealed the FlexPai handset, capable of solving the "contradiction between the high-definition large-screen experience and portability."

Several other smartphone makers are also rumoured to be working on a foldable phone, including Huawei and LG.