Forget the new Nokia 3310, there is ANOTHER retro phone about to make a comeback
FORGET the new Nokia 3310, smartphone colossus Samsung is preparing to bring back the flip phone.
The new Nokia 3310 is not the only new handset taking a trip down memory lane
Smartphones might be getting smarter, but it appears that there is an ever-increasing demand for retro handsets.
HMD Global announced a redesigned Nokia 3310 at the Mobile World Congress tradeshow back in February.
The retro handset, complete with T9 predictive text and Snake, caused a splash at the technology tradeshow.
And now, Samsung – fresh from launching one of the best smartphones of all time – wants to bring back the flip phone.
Dubbed W2017, the premium flip phone combines the power of a modern smartphone with a retro design.
The W2017 looks retro, but has a number of very modern features
Samsung has fitted the retro handset with two touchscreens
The handset runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
Samsung has also fitted the new flip phone with two 4.2-inch Super AMOLED touchscreens, each with an impressive 1920 x 1080-pixel resolution.
One of these lives on the outside of the clamshell, while the other is inside, above a traditional feature-phone style keyboard – like the one on the new Nokia 3310.
The W2017 is powered by 4GB of RAM coupled with a Snapdragon 820, the same chipset that powered Samsung's 2016 flagship phone, the Galaxy S7.
Samsung W2017 runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
Samsung Pay is also supported on the new handset
Samsung has added water and dust resistance to the design, as well as a fingerprint scanner to authenticate contactless payments via Samsung Pay.
There's also a 12-megapixel rear camera, and 5-megapixel front-facing shooter.
Samsung has also included 64GB of onboard storage.
Unfortunately, according to CNET, the new flip phone won't be available in the UK.
The W2017 is currently only excepted to ship in China, where it is rumoured to cost customers an eye-watering 20,000 Chinese Yuan.
That's about £2,350 – or the cost of three-and-a-half Samsung Galaxy S8s!