SAN FRANCISCO—The smartphone industry has been searching for a breakthrough to revive a market mired in an innovation lull and a sales slump. There’s now a potential catalyst on the horizon.
Samsung and several rivals are preparing to roll out new redesigned devices with flexible screens that can be folded in half without breaking. That feat could make the devices more versatile for work and pleasure, by increasing screen space to the size of a mini-tablet and fold like a wallet so they can revert to the size of regular phones.
