Samsung's $2,000 foldable phone is ready for prime time.
It's here. After literally years of rumors, leaks, and reports, Samsung's foldable smartphone has arrived.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is one of the first folding phones to be released to the masses, and while it did have a rocky initial launch earlier in 2019, the Fold is now available for purchase for anyone that has a cool $2,000 burning a hole in their pocket.
There's no denying the importance of the Galaxy Fold and what it means for the future of smartphones as we know them, so let's take a closer look at the device and see just what it's bringing to the table.
Samsung Galaxy Fold
An entirely new kind of smartphone.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is something special. It's the first foldable phone to launch in the United States and makes every other handset look like a piece of ancient history. There are still some quirks with folding phones as a whole, but if you want to buy one, this is probably the one to get.
Check out our hands-on coverage
Talking about the Galaxy Fold is one thing, but actually using it as a daily driver is something else entirely.
The Galaxy Fold is a device with enormous potential and is paving the way for an entirely new kind of smartphone. We have to give Samsung a tremendous amount of props for trying something this ambitious, but as you might expect, there are a few quirks here and there that come with a first-gen smartphone.
The above video shows our hands-on impressions with the refreshed Galaxy Fold, which Samsung promises is more durable and reliable than the first model that launched back in April. If you prefer reading over watching, the links below highlighting our initial impressions with both the new version and the old one from earlier in the year (along with an editorial about the Fold's idea and execution).
The main highlight of the Galaxy Fold is that it has two displays — one on the outside and another that's revealed when you open the phone up.
The external display is a 4.6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED panel with a 21:9 aspect ratio. The inner/main display of the Galaxy Fold is a large 7.3-inch QXGA+ Dyanic AMOLED canvas with a form factor of 4.2:3.
You can use the outer display for anything you'd regularly use your phone for, including texting, making calls, spending endless hours on Twitter, you name it. However, the big draw to the Galaxy Fold is that you can open it up and get a tablet-like experience in a device you can easily fit in your pocket.
A powerful hinge mechanism keeps everything secure
In order for the Galaxy Fold to be opened and closed, Samsung's using a powerful hinge mechanism. Here's how the company describes it:
Samsung's really put these hinges to the test to ensure they keep on working for a while to come. More specifically, the hinge has been tested to open and close 200,000 times. In real-world use, that should translate to a five-year lifespan if you're opening and closing the Galaxy Fold 100 times in a single day.
The potential of a device like the Galaxy Fold is really exciting, and based on what we've seen so far, Samsung's doing everything it can to get the absolute most out of it.
For one thing, when you're using the Galaxy Fold with its main 7.3-inch display, you can get up to three apps simultaneously at once. Even more exciting, Samsung's using the Galaxy Fold to introduce a new feature called "App Continuity."
Let's say you're using the Galaxy Fold with its 4.6-inch display to browse Twitter and come across a video you want to watch. If you open the Galaxy Fold to access its larger screen, Twitter will automatically open up right where you left off to tie the whole experience together. That's pretty cool.
Samsung crammed in a total of 6 cameras
When it comes to cameras, Samsung's not cutting any corners with the Galaxy Fold.
On the phone, you'll find a total of 6 cameras. Here's what they're packing:
- Rear Camera 1 — 16MP Ultra Wide | f/2.2
- Rear Camera 2 — 12MP Wide-Angle | f/1.5 - f/2.4
- Rear Camera 3 — 12MP Telephoto | f/2.4
- Front Camera 1 — 10MP Selfie | f/2.2
- Front Camera 2 — 8MP Depth Sensor | f/1.9
- Cover Camera — 10MP Selfie | f/2.2
Believe it or not, the Galaxy Fold isn't the only folding phone that's launching in 2019. So far, its biggest competitor is the Huawei Mate X.
The Mate X is a downright stunning device, and in some ways, is even more impressive than what Samsung created. It uses a slightly different folding design, allowing its front/phone display to be much larger than what you'll find on the Galaxy Fold. There's also no notch on the tablet screen, and it has a higher screen resolution with a slightly beefier battery.
Another foldable the aims to challenge the Galaxy Fold is the Motorola RAZR. Unlike the Fold and Mate X, which try to be a smartphone and tablet in one, the RAZR is basically a traditionally-sized smartphone that folds up to be extra portable.
While some phones are exciting because of the specifications they bring to the table, the Galaxy Fold stands out because of its unique form factor and the overall experience of using it. Even so, Samsung still made sure that it packed the Fold with all of the latest tech that it could.
This means you'll find a 7nm processor, 12GB of RAM, and an impressive 512GB of base storage. Some legacy features had to be cut, such as a headphone jack and microSD card support, but we think the trade-offs Samsung decided to make were well worth it.
| Category | Samsung Galaxy Fold |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 9 Pie Samsung One UI |
| Main Display | 7.3-inch 4.2:3 2152 x 1536 362ppi Dynamic AMOLED |
| Cover Display | 4.6-inch 21:9 720 x 1680 399ppi Super AMOLED |
| Processor | 7nm 64-bit octa-core 2.84GHz + 2.41GHz + 1.78GHz |
| Memory | 12GB RAM |
| Storage | 512GB |
| Security | Capacitive fingerprint sensor Face recognition |
| Battery | 4,380 mAh (LTE model) 4,235 mAh (5G model) |
| Charging | QuickCharge 2.0 wired charging Fast Qi wireless charging |
| Payment | MST NFC |
| Dimensions (Folded) | 62.9 x 160.9 x 17.0mm |
| Dimensions (Unfolded) | 117.9 x 160.9 x 7.5mm |
| Weight | 263g |
| Colors | Space Silver Cosmos Black Martain Green Astro Blue |
It costs nearly $2,000
Yeeeeepppppp.
Samsung is selling the Galaxy Fold for a whopping, heart-stopping, $1,980.
While that's undoubtedly a gob load of money, we should give credit where credit is due.
The Galaxy Fold is the first device of its kind to hit the market, and considering how much bleeding-edge technology it's using and that the Galaxy Note 10+ already has a starting price of $1100, it could certainly be worse.
Along with that, Samsung's also including premium packing with the Galaxy Fold and throwing in a free pair of its Galaxy Buds (a $130 value).
If you have the cash to spare and want to live on the bleeding edge, you can pick up a Fold for yourself right now.
New category
Samsung Galaxy Fold
An entirely new kind of smartphone.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is something special. It's the first foldable phone to launch in the United States and makes every other handset look like a piece of ancient history. There are still some quirks with folding phones as a whole, but if you want to buy one, this is probably the one to get.