Samsung shows foldable phone to developers

By Jane Lanhee Lee

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd unveiled its much-anticipated foldable phone to developers in San Francisco on Wednesday, urging Android programmers to start writing apps for the product, which does not yet have a launch date.

Samsung also launched a new flexible mobile screen technology for its foldable phones, called infinity flex display.

Foldable phones hold the promise of allowing consumers to do more complex work that would normally be done on a tablet or laptop, but with a device that becomes far more compact.

The goal is garnering critical feedback as new technologies will require developers to tweak apps to make sure they run smoothly when the phone folds out into tablet form.

"It's an exciting concept and we expect to see foldable products from several Android manufacturers," Dave Burke, vice president of engineering for Android, told a Google conference on Wednesday.

"In fact, we're already working closely with Samsung on a new device they plan to launch early next year," Burke said.

The early look for developers also underscores a new level of caution in product planning after a costly recall for its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 in 2016.

(Reporting By Jane Lanhee Lee, Munsif Vengattil and Paresh Dave; editing by Patrick Graham and Maju Samuel)