Samsung is reportedly planning to release its foldable Galaxy X smartphone next year

• Samsung is reportedly planning a foldable smartphone that will be released next year, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
• The phone will reportedly have a 7-inch display and will fold in half like a wallet.
• Rumors have swirled about a foldable Samsung phone for years, nicknamed the Galaxy X.
• Samsung is also reportedly planning to release a Bixby-enabled smart speaker to compete with Apple’s HomePod.

The long-rumored foldable Samsung smartphone will reportedly be released next year, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

The phone – which is codenamed “Winner” internally – will have a 7-inch screen and will fold in half like a wallet. The device will also have a smaller display on the front that’s visible when it’s folded in half, according to the Journal.

The phone would likely cost more than $1,500, the Journal reports. Currently, Samsung’s most expensive phone is the Galaxy Note 8, which starts at $960.

For years, rumors have swirled about the foldable Samsung phone called the Galaxy X. Patents have suggested the phone would be closer to the size of a tablet when it’s unfolded, and would be thicker than most current smartphones.

It's also likely that any foldable device Samsung makes will have limited availability to start, a tactic that has worked for Samsung in the past.

In 2013, Samsung released the Galaxy Round - its first attempt at a smartphone with a curved display - to select Asian markets so it could learn from its mistakes to wow a larger population. The following year it released the Galaxy Note Edge, which had a single curved edge and it wound up serving as the blueprint for every curved-display device on the market.

The foldable phone isn't the only new Samsung device on the horizon, however. Samsung is planning its Galaxy Unpacked event on August 9, where it will likely unveil the new Galaxy Note 9. The Journal also reports that we can expect Samsung to launch an Apple HomePod competitor around the same time: a $300 speaker powered by Samsung's smart assistant, Bixby.