Samsung’s Galaxy Fold Foldable Phone smartphone is a curious mix of new and old while being full of ironies.
It’s new, because of the obvious folding display — quite an impressive feat and gorgeously executed. But old, because of its choice of design and screen sizes — the inner, larger screen which is 7.3-inches in size feels like a throwback to the company’s tablet heydays when that category used that size very often.
And when folded, the device’s 4.6-inch cover display looks curiously like the handsets of analogue times that you could find in older catalogues.
It’s truly ironic because Samsung itself practically ended the reign of the two screen sizes with the introduction of its sleeper hit, the Galaxy Note, which made larger screen sizes for smartphones trendy. Reception for the Galaxy Fold’s two screen sizes are up in the air and will be a crucial factor in influencing the company’s next course of action.
Overall, the Galaxy Fold Foldable Phone is a bold idea that has been executed very well by Samsung. The company continues its reign as the king of smartphone hardware and this new folding phone reaffirms that.
But seeing and touching the device, its obvious that Samsung is prioritising the 7.3-inch folding screen as the “main event”. This has forced it to accommodate the phone’s design and the placement of key components, such as camera modules, around the folding screen, leaving plenty of room for improvement and fine-tuning.
I am sold on Samsung’s months of hype and would certainly buy it. But, that is, only if it was cheaper than its $1,980 price tag.
HINGE AND PROTECTIVE COVER ARE SECURE
Samsung took the backlash about its faulty review units to heart it seems. The bottom line here is that hinges and cover glass won’t be problem anymore and the South Korean tech giant delivers on months of anticipation when it comes to durability.
The polymer cover is tightly aligned where the bezels are surrounding the folding screen and I couldn’t spot a slit that could fit my fingernails to unravel the screen. The top and bottom hinges are only slightly altered but are clawed in between the two folded sides to make it a more rigid folding and unfolding experience.
Aesthetically, little has changed since the review units were sent out, but the sides of the device seem more securely in place when slightly ajar or folded. The review units must have been designed so that the folding and unfolding experience was prioritised, but I think consumers will care little about the increased rigidness as there is no previous generation device to compare with.
Long term durability remains to be seen but after spending over an hour with the device, where I folded and unfolded the device hundred times — it’s hard resist — there was no visible sign of malfunction. More
