Samsung Galaxy X video gives glimpse of foldable smartphone

Two clips of the folding phone appear to have been accidentally leaked weeks ahead of its release date

Samsung appears to have accidentally leaked a short video clip of its forthcoming foldable smartphone, expected to be called the Galaxy X or Galaxy F.

A teaser video posted by Samsung Vietnam was posted online before being swiftly deleted, though not before a copy of it was ripped and reuploaded to YouTube.

The video appears to be a showcase of forthcoming technology from the South Korean electronics giant, including a three-panelled augmented reality mirror and a tattoo robot.

Two separate shots also showed a woman using a folding phone, featuring screens on both the inside and outside of the device.

Samsung previously teased the foldable smartphone at an event in November, though it was difficult to see what the hybrid handset looks like as the unveiling took place with the lights turned down.

A few details were confirmed at the conference, including a 1536 by 2152 resolution for the main display and an 840 by 1960 resolution for the cover display.

No official release date is yet to be announced by the world's most popular smartphone maker, with two dates providing a potential platform for the launch.

The first is 20 February at Samsung's Unpacked event, where the firm is anticipated to unveil the Galaxy S10 smartphone. A week later is Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which could also be an ideal event to showcase the new device.

Samsung released a teaser video of what the Galaxy X foldable phone might look like (Samsung)

Several other firms are also working on folding phones, including Xiaomi, Huawei and the Chinese startup Royole.

At its semi-unveiling, Samsung described the folding phone as the "foundation of the smartphone of tomorrow", though it is unclear what the demand is for such a device.

The main benefit is to offer users the large screen size of a tablet in a device that is compact enough to fit in a pocket.

Such a radical departure from traditional smartphone and tablet design will likely come at a cost, however, with The Korea Times anticipating a price tag for the Galaxy X of around 2 million won ($1,790).

Samsung's new foldable screen smartphone was unveiled at a conference in California on 7 November, 2018 (REUTERS)

Earlier leaks of Samsung's foldable phone have given an indication of the colour schemes to expect, with unoficial Samsung news site SamMobile claiming it will come in blue, green, silver and black.

The same publication also reported that Samsung is manufacturing up to one million units ahead of its global release.

Like the Galaxy S10, the Galaxy X is also expected to support 5G.

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

Other details that are officially known include an Infinity Flex display, as well as a new mobile operating software that takes advantage of the innovative form.

Google has also announced a version of Android that supports folding devices.