SourceCode: Samsung ushers in new Foldable segment

We can argue about the exorbitant price, the limited availability at launch, and how no one really needs the Samsung Galaxy Fold but that would diminish what Samsung has accomplished in giving the world an entirely new Foldables category.

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

While Samsung’s most recent Unpacked event focused mainly on their rather iterative update to the Galaxy S line with multiple Galaxy S10 handsets raising the bar (and the price) of what Samsung flagship smartphones can offer, this moment clearly belonged to the all-new Samsung Galaxy Fold.

Being the first folding smartphone from a leading manufacturer (and available in April 2019), the Galaxy Fold puts Samsung in the driver’s seat of an entirely new product category, one that, if developed properly, might eclipse smartphones and tablets in terms of future-facing functionality.

I was betting on Microsoft to usher in this new era with its still unreleased Surface Andromeda. A device that worked as a phone, but which folded into a productivity tablet and which could be docked into a monitor, keyboard, and mouse seems a natural progression for where PC’s are headed.

Yet, it makes perfect sense for Samsung to be the company to break this new ground. Samsung’s always had the lead in innovative display technology, Samsung makes PCs and tablets and understands the nuances of these product lines. Samsung also has the best implementation of making a mobile device a PC replacement with its DeX (Desktop Experience) which has been built-in to last year’s devices and should enable the Galaxy Fold to work as a desktop PC.

Let’s look at what the Samsung Galaxy Fold offers for a whopping price of CAD$2,600. When folded, the Galaxy Fold is a chunky 4.6” HD+ Super AMOLED display, which might seem tiny in relation to the device’s proportions.

The magic happens when you unfold the Fold with a 7.3” QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED display which is tablet territory. The device is powered by a 7 nanometer Octa-Core processor, has 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. These are midrange laptop specs and impressive on a device of this size.

All of Samsung’s strengths are on full display here (no pun intended). Aside from the displays which should be clear and bright to read, Galaxy Fold comes with no less than six cameras including a rear wide angle and ultra-wide camera.

Throughout its 10-year history, Samsung’s Galaxy line has been about extending experiences beyond the screen. They’ve come up with curved screen, infinity displays, as well as the best display technologies available. Samsung created the large smartphone or Phablet segment, which now makes up most smartphones sold. The Galaxy Fold is the pinnacle of all this innovation, and it is remarkable that Samsung has managed to change the conversation from notches and punch-hole displays to what’s next in portable computing.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is expected to be somewhat half-baked at launch. Third-party apps will be wonky, and some older applications may not scale properly.

We also need to see how much wear and tear a folding display can take. A device that costs this much and is this premium will also be quite delicate.

I can’t see any sort of case or protector making sense on a device that’s designed to fold and unfold hundreds of times a day.

We can argue about the exorbitant price, the limited availability at launch, and how no one really needs the Samsung Galaxy Fold but that would diminish what Samsung has accomplished in giving the world an entirely new Foldables product category that will change personal computing and the smartphone segment.

As a technology and gadget lover, I’m excited for the Samsung Galaxy Fold and what it will be able to give users. One of my most popular and commented on YouTube videos focuses on the Galaxy Note 9 and it’s DeX integration.

This shows me first-hand that there are many users who want a multi-faceted smartphone that’s a viable PC and tablet replacement.