The CEO of Samsung’s mobile unit, DJ Koh, hinted the company could reveal details of a foldable smartphone with a screen that bends at its developer conference in November, after surveys showed consumers are interested in such a device, CNBC reported.

At IFA Berlin, Koh said in an interview Samsung wants the feature to serve a purpose rather than just be a gimmick.

“Every device, every feature, every innovation should have a meaningful message to our end customer. So when the end customer uses it, [they think] ‘wow, this is the reason Samsung made it’”, he stated.

He added that “even unfolded, what kind of benefit does that give compared to the tablet? If the unfolded experience is the same as the tablet, why would they buy it?”.

The CEO did not reveal when such a phone would be launched, and said the development process has been complicated, although it is now nearly done.

Rumours of a flexible screen from Samsung started earlier this year when The Wall Street Journal reported it would launch one in 2019, with a 7-inch screen which can be “folded in half, like a wallet”.

Samsung will be hoping this move could boost revenue. In Q2, it was reported weak smartphone sales led to the IT and mobile communications division posting a 20 per cent year-on-year drop in revenue to KRW24 trillion ($21.3 billion).

Meanwhile last month it was reported Huawei is looking to beat Samsung to the punch by being the first to launch such a device.