It looks as if foldable smartphones are going to be quite the trend between now and 2020.

Samsung is working on one that should be here in 2019; it’s called the Galaxy F by the way, not the Galaxy X.

And today we’ve learned that Huawei, one of the biggest phone brands on the planet, is looking to beat Samsung to the punch.

That’s right: Huawei wants to create the world’s first foldable phone, in true oneupmanship-fashion.

This means a couple of things too: 1) Huawei’s been prepping this idea for a while, and 2) it’s now ready to engage in a race against time to beat Samsung to market with it.

This is a significant move by Huawei. What’s more, the fact that it isn’t bothered by the profitability of this handset, as detailed below, shows that it is taking this new design paradigm VERY seriously.

Taking a loss in order to be first is a gutsy move, though Huawei is clearly confident that it will pay dividends in the long run, as it (NOT Samsung) would be first to market with a high-end, foldable smartphone.

Huawei vs Samsung Galaxy F – Who’ll Be First With A Foldable Phone?

Reports suggest that Huawei wants to get this phone out in “early 2019”. If it does, this could mean it’ll beat Samsung’s Galaxy F which doesn’t have a release date as yet.

Huawei will apparently be using BOE, a Chinese display maker, for the foldable OLED panel. You can see a video of the technology in action below:

The product will hit the market by “very early 2019,” according to Yuanta Investment Consulting analyst Jeff Pu.

“The Chinese company wants to be the first in the industry even if the display technology from its panel supplier might not be that ready like Samsung,” he said.

Who Is BOE?

There kind of a big deal in the display-making business. The company has invested heavily in its production facilities over the years in a bid to secure Apple as a client.

If BOE can make enough OLED (and flexible OLED too), then an Apple deal could well be on the cards, so if you’re into buying shares, now might be a good time to be looking at BOE.

Samsung and LG are currently supplying Apple, but all that could change at any point should a newer, more focused offer come along. And BOE wants to be the company that makes THAT offer.

Huawei Foldable Phone – It Just Wants To Be First To Market (And Best Samsung)

Huawei is NOT bothered about profit with this foldable phone either; it just wants to be first.

Why? Because making the first foldable phone makes you king of that concept – just look at the iPad and the Galaxy Note.

For this reason, it’s not at all hard to understand why a company the size of Huawei wouldn’t take a run at this concept.

Here's what NIKKEI had to say on the matter:

"Huawei's planned volume could be limited to some 20,000 to 30,000 units, or even less, for a small group of first-wave adopters," one person familiar with Huawei's plan said. "The effort is mainly to demonstrate its technology capability and to attract the industry's attention and media coverage."

If it pulls it off, it’s beaten Samsung and earned itself a place in the tech hall of fame for being the first to bring a new design paradigm to market.

Let’s just hope Huawei’s foldable phone is cheaper than Samsung’s – the Galaxy F is rumored to be priced anywhere from $1500-$2000!