Yesterday’s Samsung event may have been all about their new flagship smartphone the S10 but what really grabbed everyone’s attention was its new foldable phone the aptly named “Galaxy Fold”.
Teased last year the new Fold was merely teased a little more with people apparently able to get hands on with the device at MWC in a couple of weeks. They did provide us all with a bunch of very nice product photography that you’ll see all over the internet and note that all of it does a remarkably good job of hiding the pricey abomination they’ve created.
Imagine you took your standard S9 or iPhone or whatever phone you have, then you bought another one, then you stacked them on top of each other and used “multiple interlocking gears” to create a hinge that I have no doubt any three year old will make quick work of when destroying your newly overpriced phone.
There are a few differences beyond simply pasting two phones together. Obviously there’s the fact it uses a flexible display. It’s an 7.3″ QXGA+ (2152×1536) Dynamic AMOLED display that quite literally folds in half when closed and displays no seem when opened. The unusual 4.2:3 ratio allows the Galaxy Fold to display 3 applications at once utilising a new layout system the company has worked with Android to develop.
Another difference when it comes to displays is the face the phone has a second one. Whilst closed on the front of the phone is a smaller 4.6″ HD+ Super AMOLED that means that whilst closed your Galaxy Fold can be used just like a regular smartphone that’s for some reason double the thickness. It reminds me a lot of the old Nokia 9300 Communicator, only less aware of itself, if that’s possible?
One thing you’ll notice in all of the glamours photography provided is that the front screen is generally displaying a black or darkened image and that’s because it doesn’t actually extend to the edges of the phone. In other words the display on the front is more like a mini phone, something for you to play with and eek away the time before you really need to use it and have to open the thing up. It’s like telling a child they’re now all grown up and don’t need to wear a dummy anymore.
Apps that you’re interacting with on either the larger internal display or the smaller child-size outer one automatically switch if you open or close the phone. Samsung call this “App Continuity” and works in a similar fashion to Hand-Off between your iPhone & Mac. It’s a little easier in this scenario obviously with the app just adjusting its display as it likely already does should it be a half-decently developed Android one.
As well as doubling the amount of displays the Galaxy Fold also doubles the amount of cameras. Six cameras adorn the shell of the Galaxy Fold ensuring that no matter how you’re using it there’s a camera ready to take that ever important selfie we all need to see. The rear of the phone includes the most useful and prominent array of three lenses, as you’d expect, and mirror the new S10’s offerings.
- 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
There are justifications for the phone’s exorbitant price. Six cameras, a folding display, a second regular display, a hinge comprised of interlocking gears? and of course it’s split 4300mAh battery system but phone manufacturers have kind of dug a deep hole with price gouging over the past decade. The average Joe isn’t buying a Galaxy Fold, I’m sure there’ll be some tech envy from some to begin with but if there was ever a tech product to avoid the first iteration of its the expected A$3k prototype that Samsung will be selling on April 26th (in the US & Europe)
