Hands-On With Samsung's New Galaxy Fold

[coolfactor]

$2k novelty item. Basically a foldable iPad or Galaxy Pad or whatever Samsung's tablet is? Pass.

Research and development. You can't jump to the end of the line. We need to go through these failed products to find out what works. Kudos to Samsung for being a bit more bold than Apple with regards to that approach.

 

[Khedron]

Fold unboxing and (positive) first impressions from Flossy Carter:

 

[NickName99]

Research and development. You can't jump to the end of the line. We need to go through these failed products to find out what works. Kudos to Samsung for being a bit more bold than Apple with regards to that approach.

It’s a puny Android tablet - smaller than an iPad mini - with a crease in the middle of the screen. Or a fat and oblong Android phone. They’re “boldly” selling a poorly made product that is a combination of the worst of tablets and the worst of phones, for $2,000. It’s hard to imagine how anybody not on Samsung’s payroll would defend this frankenturd.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 review

Thanks to a ton of improvements, the Galaxy Z Fold 2 is the best foldable phone yet and a productivity powerhouse

www.tomsguide.com

 

[whoknows2597]

$149 screen replacement cost for a screen that can be permanently damaged by your fingernail!!!

The durability is shocking, another rushed to market prototype.

Last I read, that $149 screen replacement is only for the first repair. No mentions if that price is for subsequent repairs.

 

[citysnaps]

Research and development. You can't jump to the end of the line. We need to go through these failed products to find out what works. Kudos to Samsung for being a bit more bold than Apple with regards to that approach.

That's not being bold. Just more willing to release a product to the public that's not yet ready.


"We need to go through these failed products to find out what works."

We??? Not many people will sign up for that. If you want to change "We" for "I," that's cool.

 

[GadgetBen]

wait a minute... at least Samsung is up front about what customers are getting. And the cost of the screen for what it is seems a bargain compared to what Apple charges for its iPhones X, XS, XS Max, XR, 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. I believe all of which cost more than double the price Samsung charges for this screen replacement. Apple is trying to make a home run in terms of profits with every gouging thing they do!!!

Samsung, Google and Huawei are also causing Apple to innovate. However, Apple is like a dinosaur that takes years to respond. For example night photography. I agree that once Apple does it everyone seems to think Apple implemented it best. But as some people say they don’t even see the notch over two years later, IT’S ALL I SEE WHEN I LOOK AT THE FRONT OF MODERN IPHONES. Apple truly should have eliminated the notch, gone to a hole punch or embraced a forehead. Or at a minimum, allow people like me who are disgusted by it to hide the notch via a software control like all other notched phones do!!!

You can scratch the screen with your fingernail and permanently damage it. Kind of flies past your head this comment doesn’t it?

Samsung are charging fools to fund their prototype development. In the same way that Google charged fools to fund their Google Glass project.

It’s not ready yet. Samsung are doing what they always do: Rushing crap to market just to say they were first.

Apple would never do this with their products and I respect them for it and so do millions of other users.

 

[Farrellcollie]

I think it is interesting. I look forward to seeing how the technology advances.

 

[afd]

Is there any material that can be folded and unfolded without some form of damage? I seem to remember reading that wood is The only only material that doesn’t suffer from fatigue stress but not for bending as much as a folding screen. I can’t see how his can be a successful design.

 

[Naraxus]

Apple would never do this and I respect them for it and so do millions of other users.

Oh? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MobileMe

 

[danny842003]

Research and development. You can't jump to the end of the line. We need to go through these failed products to find out what works. Kudos to Samsung for being a bit more bold than Apple with regards to that approach.

why does this need to be released for R&D purposes? It’s pretty clear Samsung brought and unfinished product to market, hence the delay and canceling of orders. I don’t see why this deserves any applause.

 

[Heineken]

You have no clue what you are talking about. Glad you provided no proof to backup your post.

Consumers have spoken. Clue master ...

 

[chucker23n1]

Whoever invented the term “price point” needs to get bent! Adding pointless words to a word that already describes exactly what you mean is just people trying to sound important

You could've looked that up in the same time as making the post, but I guess writing is more fun than reading.

If Samsung continues the Fold line-up for several years and the price stays relatively stable at ~2k, that's a price point. If they decide to go downmarket, perhaps due to pressure from competition, it's not.

 

[Packers1958]

Consumers have spoken. Clue master ...

That doesn't mean 3D is garbage. Again, you show your inate ability to be totally useless and provide no proof that 3D is garbage. BTW, they are still making 3D discs along with UHD players that can play 3D. You sound like the fools years ago when people were buying CD music discs and they said vinyl was garbage. Guess what, vinyl making a huge comeback, because it does sound better.

 

[nickelanddime]

It actually looks better than expected. That said: once the novelty of opening the phone in order to do anything productive wears off, there might be a bit of buyer’s remorse.

I think the trouble is you can’t properly use it as a normal phone, in closed mode, as if it couldn’t be opened. They’ve gone all in for the fold novelty but then that means you’ve lost the “best of both”.

It’s not quite a phone because you need to put it in tablet mode to get the same experience as you would with other Samsung flagships, and it’s not quite a tablet either. I think if Apple were to go into the foldable territory, their “fold” would be incidental and harmonious to the product, rather than being the product itself.

"Looks better than expected"?! This man has balls of steel. You will receive death threats from people on this forum for such comments...

Hahah jk. Agreed, this is awesome. I just got the 11 Pro, but gahh, its the exact same (minus the impressive 3d speakers) as my previous iPhone X. I miss the innovation

 

[az431]

whine all you want, this thing is interesting

Interesting in the same way that traffic accidents are interesting.

Research and development. You can't jump to the end of the line. We need to go through these failed products to find out what works. Kudos to Samsung for being a bit more bold than Apple with regards to that approach.

Selling useless garbage is neither bold nor necessary to “find out what works.”

Oh? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MobileMe

grasping at straws. Apple has never released a sh$t show like the Galaxy Fold.

 

[SteveJUAE]

I am never surprised by the amount of selective amnesia that is prevalent in many postings and how convenient it is to forget that an equivalent spec'd out Iphone 11 Pro max is just ~$100 less and that's before we ignore the extra cameras, real estate and complexity of design on the Fold 🙄

The Fold is 9.73 oz | 276 g to Iphone 11 Pro max 7.97 oz | 226 g that is just 20 g difference to the Note 10+ 6.91 oz | 196 g delta to the Iphone or 25 g less for the Ipad mini at 10.6 oz | 300.5 g. I don't see any weight lifting classes at the genius bar for new Iphone 11 owners LOL

Sure we can wince at a $2k price and the majority do at any phone over a few $100's yet many still pay $1800 for a fully equipped Iphone. For those that consider a 2K price is in the range of annual disposable items like shoes, handbags etc and like differentiation by price perhaps they consider the Fold a steal. In terms of hardware in the box compared to Apple pricing it is.

I agree there is some concerns of screen durability even in the short term bu outside this I am glad that other OEM continue to pursue multi use/function devices else whole product groups would not exist if Apple model was always followed.

 

[realtuner]

I am never surprised by the amount of selective amnesia that is prevalent in many postings and how convenient it is to forget that an equivalent spec'd out Iphone 11 Pro max is just ~$100 less and that's before we ignore the extra cameras, real estate and complexity of design on the Fold 🙄

The Fold is 9.73 oz | 276 g to Iphone 11 Pro max 7.97 oz | 226 g that is just 20 g difference to the Note 10+ 6.91 oz | 196 g delta to the Iphone or 25 g less for the Ipad mini at 10.6 oz | 300.5 g. I don't see any weight lifting classes at the genius bar for new Iphone 11 owners LOL

Sure we can wince at a $2k price and the majority do at any phone over a few $100's yet many still pay $1800 for a fully equipped Iphone. For those that consider a 2K price is in the range of annual disposable items like shoes, handbags etc and like differentiation by price perhaps they consider the Fold a steal. In terms of hardware in the box compared to Apple pricing it is.

I agree there is some concerns of screen durability even in the short term bu outside this I am glad that other OEM continue to pursue multi use/function devices else whole product groups would not exist if Apple model was always followed.

Uh, the most expensive iPhone Pro Max is $1,450, or $530 less than the Fold. Where are you coming up with this $100 nonsense?

You could get the most expensive iPhone Pro Max and a new iPad Air for the same price as the Fold. Then you’d have a vastly superior phone and vastly superior tablet, instead of a lousy phone/tablet combo.

 

[slippery-pete]

2k;What an absolute waste.

 

[FlyingDutch]

Basically a joke.
Not a good table, not a good smartphone.

 

[DynaFXD]

..... You sound like the fools years ago when people were buying CD music discs and they said vinyl was garbage. Guess what, vinyl making a huge comeback, because it does sound better.

Having lived through vinyl way before CD's came along, no one ever said vinyl was garbage. Accurately stated, digital sounds just as good, although different, and also served many other needs, such as portability, better dynamic range, no need for record cleaning and special storage, and the extra cost to record cassettes when you wanted to take your music mobile (and could deal with the hissssssssssss) to name just a few. Yes vinyl has a different sound, but the real reason it is getting popular is the physical object, the concept of the album as a piece of art rather than a collection of individual songs, liner notes and art work that help foster the attachment to the work. Which are all valid. But it is not because it sounds 'better'. Nice to see folks discovering albums and vinyl although many of us are not interested in reliving the headaches and limitations that go along with it.

Oh, and to be on topic, the Samsung fold is a solution looking for a problem with a price and fragility that would make the most ardent early adopter stop and question their own buying habits, IMHO.

 

[tigress666]

I just want to be able to fold one once. Don’t want it, the screen ratio looks weird and I definitely don’t want something that is handheld and easily damaged (not a good combo). But I’d love to actually see and feel it fold in real life.

 

[eco7777]

The fact that you said Google, Huawei, and Samsung are forcing Apple to innovate clearly shows you have no clue about what you are talking about. Those companies above are known for copying and stealing IP yet you praise them like heroes? Everything Apple does is copied by these companies. You also don't understand what innovation is. You somehow believe that companies innovate every year when the fact is if a company innovates once in a lifetime they are lucky.

Go buy an Android phone and go hang out in their forums. We will see you back here in 2 years or less.

well, Huawei's 5g is ahead of anything in the USA. Like by a couple of years. Why do you think the Gov target them?? Because of that little lie the gov told you?

Having lived through vinyl way before CD's came along, no one ever said vinyl was garbage. Accurately stated, digital sounds just as good, although different, and also served many other needs, such as portability, better dynamic range, no need for record cleaning and special storage, and the extra cost to record cassettes when you wanted to take your music mobile (and could deal with the hissssssssssss) to name just a few. Yes vinyl has a different sound, but the real reason it is getting popular is the physical object, the concept of the album as a piece of art rather than a collection of individual songs, liner notes and art work that help foster the attachment to the work. Which are all valid. But it is not because it sounds 'better'. Nice to see folks discovering albums and vinyl although many of us are not interested in reliving the headaches and limitations that go along with it.

Oh, and to be on topic, the Samsung fold is a solution looking for a problem with a price and fragility that would make the most ardent early adopter stop and question their own buying habits, IMHO.

Being a Musician myself, yes, vinyl sounds better. Analog is king.
It is like a guy coming in with a POS Axe Fx to a big boy fight, let's say against a Bogner XTC. Guess who sounds better and will be heard by the crowd.....

The Axe Fx shines in that it is easier to carry around if you don't play pro and have someone do that for you. It is more convenient on that side of the coin, yet sounds like a POS compared to a real amp.

 

[ckhris1613]

So much desperation to be first to market even when the product, technology and know how is not mature enough.

Really? I think this is awesome and apple isnt desperate, innovative or bold enough. I hope apple copies one of these, id be first in line.

 

[itguy06]

good thing Apple would never release something like this until they sorted out the durability issues

Ignore the iPhone 4's Antennagate (you're holding it wrong and free bumpers).
Apple Maps was junk at its introduction
Ignore the butterfly keyboard debacle that affects new Macbooks
Ignore the QC issues Apple has had with screens, GPUs, etc.
Intel iPhone modems
Early Airpods wern't durability champs either.

Everyone releases some half baked stuff.

 

[NetMage]

Ignore the iPhone 4's Antennagate (you're holding it wrong and free bumpers).
Apple Maps was junk at its introduction
Ignore the butterfly keyboard debacle that affects new Macbooks
Ignore the QC issues Apple has had with screens, GPUs, etc.
Intel iPhone modems
Early Airpods wern't durability champs either.

Everyone releases some half baked stuff.

There‘s a big difference between half baked andselling raw cookie dough and calling it cookies.