From the past couple of years, we were waiting for the foldable smartphone from Samsung as it was in the rumor mill for quite a long time. At the Unpacked 2019, Samsung finally launched its first foldable smartphone along with the Galaxy S10 Family. The Samsung Galaxy Fold is the official name of the device, and it is priced at $1,980 which makes it one of the most expensive phones out there in the market.
Remember when Samsung showcased the prototype of this phone last year at the SDC? Well, the design remains the same for the final version as there are two displays, a smaller one on the outside and a larger one on the inside. So, to use it as a small sized phone, you need to fold it and do the opposite to use it as a tablet.
As you can see in the image above, there is a hinge in between that, as the company says, has multiple interlocking gears so that the phone opens smoothly and closes with a satisfying click.
At the launch event, DJ Koh, the President and the CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, said –
Today, Samsung is writing the next chapter in mobile innovation history by changing what’s possible in a smartphone. Galaxy Fold introduces a completely new category that unlocks new capabilities never seen before with our Infinity Flex Display. We created Galaxy Fold for those that want to experience what a premium foldable device can do, beyond the limitations of a traditional smartphone.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is Samsung’s first device with an Infinity Flex display, and this display is around 50% thinner than a normal smartphone screen. There is a new polymer layer, and all this results in a screen that is flexible but also tough.
When folded, the Galaxy Fold has a small 4.6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED cover display with a 21:9 aspect ratio. If you want to use it as a tablet, then you have to unfold the phone and use the main 7.3-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED display with an aspect ratio of 4.2:3.
The Galaxy Fold has a feature called App Continuity. This means that if you are using any app, e.g. Google Maps on the small cover display, then you can unfold the phone and the same app will be now running on the larger screen. Then there is Three-way multitasking which means you can use three apps at the same time on the large screen.
The design is impressive, and so are the specifications. Since it is priced around $2K, you get top of the line specifications like a 7nm Snapdragon 855 processor, 12GB RAM, 512GB UFS 3.0 internal storage, & a huge 4,380mAh battery underneath. The phone also supports Wireless Charging.
Since the phone folds from the center, there is a dual battery system which means there are two batteries underneath on either side of the hinge and their powers are combined. Just like the Galaxy S10 Family, the Galaxy Fold supports Wireless Powershare which means it can wirelessly charge other devices.
The camera situation is pretty interesting. There are triple cameras on the rear, and when the phone is folded, there is a single camera for selfies on the front. When unfolded, the phone has dual cameras placed on the cutout on the top right of the main screen.
Talking about the specs, the triple rear cameras include a primary 12MP Wide Angle camera with dual Aperture (f/1.5 and f/2.4), OIS and Dual Pixel AF, a 16MP Ultra Wide-Angle camera with f/2.2 aperture and a 12MP Telephoto camera with PDAF, OIS and 2X Optical Zoom. So, the rear camera setup is the same as the Galaxy S10 and S10+.
The cover display has a single camera, and it’s a 10MP f/2.2 unit. The main display has dual front cameras, and they include a 10MP primary f/2.2 camera and secondary 8MP depth sensor. In total, there are six cameras on the Galaxy Fold.
The color options include Space Silver, Cosmos Black, Martian Green and Astro Blue. The price for the US and Europe is $1,980 & €2,000 respectively. Samsung Galaxy Fold will be available in the Q2 2019.