Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “Galaxy Fold Hands-On: The Folding Phone Is Back!”.
This video is sponsored by Qualcomm., My friends back when I was slingin’ phones at retail. Almost every phone was a foldable and you know what I wish: we’d never left them. Behind. A folding phone is just smart.. It’S petite when you pocket it full-sized when you flip it out, and it protects its important bits when you close it back up..
The trouble is in the smartphone world. No one’s been able to figure out how to give you the benefits of a big screen with the portability of a clamshell until now.. I’Ve just spent two hours with the Galaxy Fold from Samsung, and it’s about to flip the smartphone world inside out., ( upbeat music ). You can probably hear it in my voice. Getting to hold this phone was one of the most exciting moments of my career, covering mobile tech, reminiscent of the thrill. I got previewing the Huawei Mate X, a couple months ago., But as intoxicating as the Huawei phone was it’s Samsung’s design that I think will ultimately win the coming foldable wars.. That’S because the Galaxy Fold in an innie instead of an outie.. That means when closed it protects its big display, instead of exposing it to damage on the outside..
That screen is one continuous, flexible OLED that dominates almost the entire interior surface, with the exception of an offset notch in the upper right corner for the twin interior, selfie cameras. Fold that big flexible panel back over itself and you’ll find a much smaller touchscreen on the Front outside cover. I’ve recently realized that versatility is one of the most important features to me in a phone and the most potent illustration of the Galaxy Fold’s versatility is right here that big 7.3 inch tablet on one side and the small 4.6 inch phone on the Other it’s the same device.
If you’re sweating the big bezels on the smaller screen. I sympathize it’s kinda goofy looking, but as someone who’s used a lot of clamshell phones back in the day I got ta say that kinda misses the point.. This screen is for the quick-hit tasks when you’ve only got one hand free.
You’re, not gon na, spend a lot of time out here.. When you have a second to sit down and unfold, you can take whatever you’re doing up front and spread it out across that main canvas.. In fact, there’s so much screen area here compared to a normal phone that you can run three apps alongside one another. If you want to., Then when you’re done, you fold it back up and stick it in your pocket like it’s a much smaller phone, because now it is.
Samsung had to make sacrifices to fit everything into the Fold’s form factor. The bezels I mentioned a moment ago. The thickness of the design when closed the lack of a headphone, jack or microSD card or waterproofing all standard on recent Samsung flagships., But it’s also noteworthy what Samsung didn’t sacrifice..
There are three main cameras on this phone: the same wide ultra-wide and telephoto array that I loved on the Galaxy S10. That’S in addition to those dual selfie shooters inside and a sixth camera for the cover, also for selfies.. There’S wireless charging on board, as well as reverse wireless charging, to gas up your Galaxy Buds or Watch., And there’s enough horse power under the hood to satisfy power users across everything, from phone mode to tablet mode to yes, PC mode with Samsung DeX.. I’M sure all three of you DeX users out there will appreciate that., Okay, so ready to come back down to Earth Yeah. The Galaxy Fold also costs a staggering amount of money.
So let’s take a step back and take stock of the shortcomings. You’Ll have to live with if you smash the piggy bank. With a power pack barely bigger than what’s in the Galaxy S10 and a much larger display battery life is a concern for me..
You probably won’t be able to charge it as quickly as you can. Some newer phones either thanks to the older, Quick Charge, tech. The strange aspect. Ratio of the main screen isn’t great for watching widescreen videos., Then there’s the mechanical reality of the display. Samsung rates it good for 200,000 open/closes, which it says, should be good for five years of usage.
But if you expect this to be the perfectly smooth glass of your current smartphone screen, think again., Just as I saw on the Huawei phone, there are imperfections and yeah there’s a crease here. And given the various foldable prototypes I’ve seen over the past few months, it Seems clear, those creases are something modern engineering just can’t yet iron out., Most concerning of all, is a kind of broader platform question. When was the last time you saw an Android tablet, get rave reviews They’re almost universally regarded as not that great and an Android tablet is kinda what you get when you open this thing., I mean I’m gon na have to try hundreds of apps in my review To satisfy my concerns about scaling issues and compatibility with this screen, shape and size. For most people.
Conventional smartphones will continue to be the more practical, less expensive choice for awhile yet.. But I do think the Galaxy Fold is the future of smartphones, or at least the first example of what I think they’ll become because look. It just makes so much more sense to have a phone that can be this or this on demand.
Instead of a phone that will always be this. Even more details in a moment, my friends but first price., The Galaxy Fold costs a Jackson short of $ 2000.. It’S on presale today for AT .