Samsung first teased its foldable phone back in November, and at the company’s Galaxy Unpacked event today, it’s further detailing its foldable plans. Samsung’s foldable now has a name, the Samsung Galaxy Fold, and the company is revealing more about what this unique smartphone can do. Samsung is planning to launch the Galaxy Fold on April 26th, starting at $1,980, through AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, with a free pair of Samsung’s new wireless earbuds. There will be both an LTE and 5G version of the Galaxy Fold, and Samsung is even planning on launching the device in Europe on May 3rd, starting at 2,000 euros.
Samsung is using a new 7.3-inch Infinity Flex Display that allows the phone itself to have a tablet-sized screen that can be folded to fit into a pocket. The main display is QXGA+ resolution (4.2:3), and when it’s folded, a smaller 4.6-inch HD+ (12:9) display is used for the phone mode. Samsung is using 512GB of Universal Flash Storage 3.0 (eUFS) for fast speeds, alongside a Qualcomm 7nm octa-core processor and 12GB of RAM. Samsung has even built two batteries for its Galaxy Fold, that are separated by the fold but combined in the Android operating system to represent a total of 4,380 mAh.
Samsung has built a sturdy backbone to the device, with a hinge system that has multiple interlocking gears. All of these gears are hidden at the rear of the device, and allow the Galaxy Fold to transform from tablet to phone modes. Samsung says it’s able to fold at least 200,000 times, which works out to over 5 years if you fold it 100 times a day. At the rear of the device there’s also a triple-camera system that will be used for both tablet and phone modes. There’s a 16-megapixel ultra-wide camera, alongside 12-megapixel wide-angle and telephoto cameras at the rear, and a 10-megapixel cover camera for selfies. Samsung is also creating four different colors for the Galaxy Fold, but it’s the main tablet display that’s key here.
Samsung is allowing the Galaxy Fold to run three apps at once on this Android device, and it’s using an app continuity system to adjust these apps when you move between tablet and phone modes. Apps like WhatsApp, Microsoft Office, and YouTube have all been optimized for the new display and modes, and Samsung has been working with Google to ensure Android 9 Pie fully supports this display.
Samsung demonstrated a variety of apps running in this mode, and the switching from phone to tablet and vice versa. It looks rather smooth in the software right now, but it’s fair to say that the Galaxy Fold looks far better when it’s folded out than being used as a traditional phone. The phone display is clearly designed to be used with one hand, but it’s flanked by large bezels that aren’t found on the tablet mode. We’ll need to get a closer look at the Galaxy Fold to find out exactly how this impacts the device usability, though.
Samsung isn’t the only smartphone maker creating a foldable device, but it’s certainly one of the first to make it widely available. Xiaomi teased its own folding phone recently, that looked like the best concept we’ve seen so far. Huawei is also reportedly planning to release a foldable handset this year, and Lenovo has started to tease its own prototype. LG has also been developing flexible OLED displays and TVs that roll up into a box. If all these manufacturers progress toward shipping a device like Samsung, then expect to see a lot of foldable phones in 2019 and beyond. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
3d gimmick. Curved TV not gimmick.
Just because you have one in your living room doesnt mean curved TV's arent a gimmick.
I've compared them with flat panels, numerous tests have compared them with flat panels, and there's no discernible difference in viewing experience. Now take that curved TV and watch it from a non centered angle and tell me all about how it improves the experience.
There's a reason why Samsung and LG dropped curved displays from their flagships and the LG Director of New Product Development said, "Since the appeal of curved is purely aesthetic and it does nothing to enhance the picture quality, we prefer to focus on flat form factor for the TV itself."
Originally Posted by jjjayb:
4. Which is still too many. But 4 of them have broken so far. 2 of them were broken by people peeling what they thought was a removable screen protector off. It wasn't removable. So 2 of them have broken. Still too many when you consider how few are out there right now.
I'm a little worried about the longevity of the screen, not due to the folding of it, but that lint, debris, crumbs, skin oil could possibly get beneath the non-removable screen protector. To be able to have a fold able screen it has to be plastic, more malleable, but also more delicate.
Won't likely be a deal breaker to me because Sammy won't leave people out to dry. I doubt they even intend to make money on this phone. [Reply]
Originally Posted by jjjayb:
4. Which is still too many. But 4 of them have broken so far. 2 of them were broken by people peeling what they thought was a removable screen protector off. It wasn't removable. So 2 of them have broken. Still too many when you consider how few are out there right now.
SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is retrieving all Galaxy Fold samples distributed to reviewers to investigate reports of broken screens, a day after it postponed the phone’s launch, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
The retrieval comes as the world’s biggest smartphone maker met with embarrassment ahead of the foldable device’s U.S. release on April 26, with a handful of technology journalists reporting breaks, bulges and blinking screens after a day’s use.
The South Korean tech giant postponed the handset’s launch for an unspecified period of time while it investigated the matter. It said initial findings showed the issues could be associated with impact on exposed areas of the hinges.
A representative declined to comment further on Tuesday. [Reply]
Don't know why you bag on Sammy. They are pushing the envelope. Hoping for the success of a foldable phone is good for consumers in the long run. And they are willing to delay things. They've always made things right and they continue to innovate. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
Don't know why you bag on Sammy. They are pushing the envelope. Hoping for the success of a foldable phone is good for consumers in the long run. And they are willing to delay things. They've always made things right and they continue to innovate.
How could it possibly matter what we hope for? [Reply]
Originally Posted by vailpass:
There are very,very real reasons to keep Huawei out of America and our allied countries as well.
Out of government hands and actual infrastructure hands like installing an entire 5G network like the UK just approved, sure. But if Huawei wants to spy on my visits to pornhub they could just call me. They arent going to learn anything more about me or US intelligence than what the US government already doesnt get from my phone. [Reply]
Originally Posted by jd1020:
Out of government hands and actual infrastructure hands like installing an entire 5G network like the UK just approved, sure. But if Huawei wants to spy on my visits to pornhub they could just call me. They arent going to learn anything more about me or US intelligence than what the US government already doesnt get from my phone.
Originally Posted by Buehler445:
Problem is they make components that are used EVERYWHERE.
Keeping the phones out are just marginally reducing the data points they can access
Keeping 100% of their products out of Western civilization would be optimal. They are known bad actors and there is zero doubt about their intent or to whom they report. [Reply]
Originally Posted by jd1020:
Just because you have one in your living room doesnt mean curved TV's arent a gimmick.
I've compared them with flat panels, numerous tests have compared them with flat panels, and there's no discernible difference in viewing experience. Now take that curved TV and watch it from a non centered angle and tell me all about how it improves the experience.
There's a reason why Samsung and LG dropped curved displays from their flagships and the LG Director of New Product Development said, "Since the appeal of curved is purely aesthetic and it does nothing to enhance the picture quality, we prefer to focus on flat form factor for the TV itself."
Gimmick.
I've compared curved monitors and flat panels and for my next computer build I'm going curved. I agree if you're watching a movie and there are different viewing angles in the room its worthless but if you sitting center it makes a difference.
Just my humble opinion.
And these phones were a new technology and if you bought one for full price before the technology was refined then you were basically an unpaid alpha stage test subject. [Reply]
My absolute favorite part about this whole folding phone is that for years now people have been bitching about plastic and phones have slowly gone from plastic to metal to glass and to even some using ceramic and now we are back to plastic for 4x the cost but it folds... OOOOOOOOooooooo AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! [Reply]
