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Hands-On With Samsung's New Galaxy Fold

Arran said:
Yes, innovation is good, but are folding screens ready for real world abuse? The tech seems immature and a bit fragile right now.

I could be wrong of course. I thought Apple was nuts releasing a glass front/backed iPhone 4. And yet here I am with an iPhone 11. And that's after owning a 4, 4s and X - all sans drama. So who knows? :)
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I completely agree with you. I certainly won't be buying one. But I'm glad the tech exists and there are still companies willing to create new things. Maybe this will be a disaster and quickly fade away, maybe it's the next great thing. At least we get to see some innovation.

FWIW, the iPhone 4 was my first of many iPhones and despite all the drama, I loved the glass front and back. I even bought a white 4s after all the drama over no white 4.
 
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So no haptic style touch tech if you cannot push the screen too hard. One concern is Samsung state they will support for a longer period of time but if this thing fails I can see them dropping it. Similar to people who bought the Pixel Slate. Now a cancelled product. It is good to push the boundaries but if you have too many compromises and cannot use the product how you wish how can you fully use this type of product. $2000 in the US at least is just Samsung recouping their R&D budget. Nothing more.
 
When "innovation " no longer comes handy for the users
Now innovation means take extra care, don't use it easily, don't be frustrated if something will happen etc
I loved the days when innovation meant to be a new process/product that makes the users life easier
 
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Graphikos said:
Have you seen the Xiaomi Mi Mix Alpha?
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Didn't know it, but not exactly what I'm picturing. It just looks like a brick with paper wrap around it.
I'm thinking a way more organic shape, and its UI behaves accordingly (definitely not current Android or iOS UI.) But it's cool a company is begging to apply it like that. Thanks for the heads-up.
 
Ghost31 said:
Jeff gold bloom moment right here
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Yeah, because genetic manipulation of things not really understood and releasing mutant creatures into the wild is the exact same thing as an innovative new form factor of cell phone 🤪
 
dantroline said:
But it is innovative. I don't need one but once this technology matures it will be everywhere.

What I want to see is a device that folds with the screen on the outside.
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How is it innovative? Folding OLED? Apple is already utilizing folded OLED screens on the X.

The Galaxy Fold is not innovative. It is just Samsung making a porduct based on the netizens' crowdsourcing. It is, however, important for Samsung to do this, as if this doesn't exist, Samsung is way behind in any innovations. The Chinese like Xiaomi and BKK group are already trying out many interesting techs, while Samsung is just a follower at this point (under display fingerprint, the notch/hole, USB-C audio, etc).
 
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Kudos to Samsung, wow! This actually looks pretty decent as a first iteration of the tech. Not sure what the fuss about the outer screen is, the video mentions it’s something like 4.6 inches. That’s basically the entry size iPhone 6/7/8’s. It’s fine! This looks soooo convenient and so cool.
 
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falainber said:
Is iPad a folding smartphone or something? What's your point? Galaxy Fold is the best folding smartphone on the market (simply by virtue of being the only one). Yes, it has obvious issues. We'll see if the tradeoffs are worth it for [some] people.
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Narrator: They weren't worth it.
 
KazKam said:
Wow. Compromised in every possible way for some useless gimmick (IMO).
  • Awkward (non-standard) screen size in every configuration.
  • Hardware failure points galore
  • Not a good phone form factor
  • Not a good tablet/phablet form factor
  • And that off-center notch tho, ugh
This is NOT pushing the envelope or innovating or evolving, it's just a bad idea poorly implemented. Move along. A "throw crap at the wall" move in true Samsung style.
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Fully agreed. People who see it must not try to replicate the Samsung galaxy fold product design, there is absolutely nothing groundbreaking and it really tarnishes the look of what a folding device can do for the future.
 
WBRacing said:
I used to commute on a train and have both my iPhone and Nexus 7 in my pockets. The idea of a device that could reliably be both is exciting to at least me.

So it clearly isn't the best implementation, yet. At least they are trying something different and testing it in the market will soon tell them whether they are on the right track or not and whether they should bother to continue trying to refine.

I realise that on here unless Apple does it, it is automatically garbage, but people should consider broadening their minds and seeing the possibilities once in a while.



Presumably then you want another website to be created for the iPhone, Watch, earpods etc..?
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What a lot of folks don’t get on here, is that unless these things get developed and “others” take risks, then Apple will never have the tech for their products, since Apple manufactures absolutely nothing. Yes, Apple may have great ideas but they rely 100% on others‘ technology or the manufacturing brilliance of these companies, e.g. Samsung to implement them.
 
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pika2000 said:
How is it innovative? Folding OLED? Apple is already utilizing folded OLED screens on the X.

The Galaxy Fold is not innovative. It is just Samsung making a porduct based on the netizens' crowdsourcing. It is, however, important for Samsung to do this, as if this doesn't exist, Samsung is way behind in any innovations. The Chinese like Xiaomi and BKK group are already trying out many interesting techs, while Samsung is just a follower at this point (under display fingerprint, the notch/hole, USB-C audio, etc).
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Truly flexible displays are new. One materials science step further to make the display as resilient as something like leather and the use-case becomes massive, far beyond just phones. The things you described while good are minor compared to the functionality that this technology may some soon offer.
 
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The folded phone mode looks redic and like a Nokia smartphone attempt from the early 00. I don’t think I’d ever use it that way with its tiny screen and huge bezel.

May as well just get a phone and a tablet for less.
 
mistasopz said:
I respect the fact that they're trying something new. It may be clunky as a first gen product, but it could eventually turn into something really great or inspire something completely different. The industry isn't going to move forward unless some manufacturer's are willing to take some risks instead adding more emojis and miniscule spec increases.
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The Samsung galaxy fold isn't really trying and they just tried something really useless and meaningless. In fact, it shouldn't even try to sell the product due to its countless flaw.
 
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I mean how much was the original iPhone? I remember it was some crazy amount of money at the time and it made the news.

This is brand new tech...give it time! The price is only going to come down as the costs and tech improve. It’s super cool!
 
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Bawstun said:
I mean how much was the original iPhone? I remember it was some crazy amount of money at the time and it made the news.

This is brand new tech...give it time! The price is only going to come down as the costs and tech improve. It’s super cool!
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499, then 399.
 
You can have the privilege of being a part of Samsung's control group to beta test the device for the low, low price of $2000.
 
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How to do a review Mac rumours style.

Firstly call out the main feature, ie the folding screen in this example. Have a rant
about how you didn’t like some aspect of it. Repeat this point a few times using different language.

Then call to action what the people watching your review think of the device.

it’s low value click bait. Along the lines of posting that the Apple store is open for pre orders even though it actually isn’t.

It’s a cash/click grab. I might switch to 9to5mac. What does everyone think of my post?
 
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DDustiNN said:
This thing is unbearably hideous. It doesn’t look practical in either form. Who actually wants this?

It’s basically a $2,000 piece of 💩
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Well said. It's virtually a prototype product that most customer finds it unacceptable.
 
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