galaxy-fold-2-samsung.png

Samsung's mockup of what a horizontal folding phone might look like.

James Martin/CNET

A year ago at Samsung's annual developer conference, the Galaxy Fold stole the show. It was the first time the foldable phone was shown. A year later at the 2019 Samsung Developer Conference in San Jose on Tuesday, there was nary a word about the Fold -- until the keynote turned to One UI 2, a software overlay for the company's phones, tablets and smartwatches. When showing off One UI 2, Samsung showed a mockup of a phone that folded in half horizontally, kind of like a flip phone.

This wasn't a formal announcement of a new Galaxy Fold 2 or a Galaxy Fold Square. But it does validate a story by Bloomberg that ran in September claiming that Samsung's next foldable phone would fold inward to become a compact square. The graphic on the screen showed what for all intents and purposes is a 2019 take on what a flip phone would look like.

sdc19-samsung-developers-conference-horizontal-foldable-phone-mock-up2830

At SDC 2019, Samsung showed off two different ways its Infinity Flex Display could fold. The left one is the Galaxy Fold. The one on the right is a mockup of an unannounced phone that folds into a small square.

James Martin/CNET

Curiously enough this follows on recent news by Motorola that it would be launching a foldable version of its iconic Moto Razr by the end of the year. But aside from two slides, one showing the mockup and another showing how the screen folded, there weren't any solid details about the square folding phone.

If the graphic showing the different ways Samsung's Infinity Flex displays can fold is any indication, that phone could be tall, about the same height as the current Galaxy Fold, but it would fold down to be more pocketable.

Now playing: Watch this: Galaxy Fold makes its case for the future

7:50