Samsung Testing Bendable Screen for Galaxy Note 4

Samsung has confirmed it is considering using a flexible display for its next large screen smartphone, the Galaxy Note 4, which is set to be launched in September.

The news comes from Lee Younghee, executive vice president of Samsung's mobile business who was speaking to the Wall Street Journal along with the company's co-chief execuitve JK Shin.

However Lee warned that plans for the Galaxy Note 4 had yet to be finalised so it may not end up having a bendable screen. The popular Galaxy Note series which Samsung launched three years ago has created a new 'phablet' category of device, which are a mix of smartphone and tablet.

Despite huge success in the smartphone market in recent years, Samsung is beginning to see a slow down in growth in recent quarters. To address this dip in sales' growth, the company said it was planning to release variations to its flagship smartphone - the Galaxy S5 - over the coming months.

This is a similar strategy to what it did in 2013 with the likes of the Galaxy S4 Mini, Galaxy S4 Zoom and Galaxy S4 Active. The company has been widely expected to launch a more premium metallic version of the Galaxy S5 to be called the Galaxy S5 Prime.

Galaxy S5 sales

Speaking of the Galaxy S5, Shin said the company was happy with initial sales figures of 11 million units in the first month on sale, up on the figures of 10 million for the Galaxy S4.

"It's been a month since we began selling the S5, and out of the gate, sales are much stronger than the Galaxy S4," adding that sales in developed markets such as the US, Australia and Germany were particularly good.

Shin said the Galaxy S5's strong sales in the first month are due to better preparations than previous years with the smartphone going on sale in 125 markets globally.

Samsung is facing stiff competition at the lower end of the market, with Chinese manufacturers like Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo grabbing significant slices of the smartphone market. Reflecting this, Strategy Analytic's latest figures suggest Samsung has just seen its first smartphone market share drop in four years.

Samsung has also seen it margins squeezed thanks to increased marketing spend on the Galaxy S5 globally.

Although Samsung's first quarter profit margin from its mobile business remained unchanged at 19.8% analysts believe it will decline with the growing competition in the smartphone segment.

More worrying for Samsung will be the fact that the mobile division, which contributes more than 70% of Samsung's overall profit, has just seen its first decline in more than three years.