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Hands-On With Samsung's New Galaxy Fold

nsayer said:
I'd poke fun at them for a video with care instructions, but Apple made a support document with care instructions for a credit card, so...
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Samsung: If you don’t follow these instructions your $2000 device will probably become permanently damaged and unusable. Fixing it will be at least $150

Apple: If you don’t follow these instructions your $0 credit card might incur some cosmetic damage. But it will still work. And is free to replace.

Yeah, definitely the same.
Like comparing an itchy nose to having your leg crushed by a boulder. 🙄
 
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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 in 2007, which even accounting for inflation is nowhere near the almost $2,000 Samsung wants for this half-baked product.
 
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It's definitely interesting and I'm glad there are companies trying to push boundaries, but it's ultimately an answer to a question no one really asked.

The problem with mobile operating systems is that size really doesn't make them terribly more useful. Multitasking still sucks on the iPad for the most part and they've obviously put a lot of time and money into trying to make it better.

The other problem with a device like this is size, weight, and price. A normal phone is always going to be thinner and weigh less for less money. Are the tradeoffs worth the novelty of having a much larger screen? I don't think so. I think a 5-6" phone is plenty for 95% of mobile computing tasks until the software gets infinitely more useful.
 
dantroline said:
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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If it's about display, then the TV side (LG, and of course Samsung as well) are already ahead of Samsung mobile. Curve TVs, rollable TVs, they exist already.

The Fold is just Samsung making a product based on netizens' wishlist. In reality, it's just a showcase of the tech, nothing more. The tech itself is already used in other applications (TVs, and like I said, even the iPhone X). The flexible display itself is not new. It's just plastic. The actual tech is on the OLED panel, and like I mentioned already, is already implemented in many other things.

With the Chinese OEMs taking jump over Samsung on both new stuff and design, Samsung must do something to tell people that they are still at the forefront of tech to justify their overpriced pricing. Thus the Fold. I doubt that Samsung expected people to actually buy these. It's a showcase to show their relevance in the mobile phone business, and then to justify their mark-ups on the rest of their lineup.
 
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Donoban said:
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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I think you should switch to 9to5mac if you like.
 
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DevNull0 said:
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 🤪
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Totally agree ;)
 
Amazing bit of kit. Tempted to say it's perhaps slightly premature but like VR, you will need to keep testing the market. Clearly a gen 1 iPhone is massively different to an 11 Pro Max, and folding phones could start the next real development cycle. We have had nothing but incrementalism for some time, and this is probably the first phone in a long time I'd say was genuinely next gen.

It seems to be much better than I expected too. Loving it when opened, maybe not as much when closed. Sales numbers will define whether Samsung push it and if app developers jump on board. Either way, even if it gets pulled for another few years, it's an impressive display of strength from Samsung.
 
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I'm still trying to figure out what problem a foldable screen solves. This reminds me of Google Glass. Impressive concept but is there a need?
 
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Very impressed with the innovation of the Galaxy Fold. Sure it has many compromises at this stage but its fully usable, functional and the first foldable screen phone on the market. Improvements will come. It also comes with 12gb ram, 512gb storage, SD card slot, bi-directional wireless charging and includes a set of Samsung's wireless earbuds. In many ways it seems the Galaxy Fold has left the iPhone 11Pro in the dust.

Yea, people will say that Apple will have one that's better, but Apple's version is not out, and could be 5 years away, if that. Apple will use Samsung, Huawei, and the others as their research into what works and what doesn't before they release their own version.
 
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Just be thankful that this was NOT released by Apple. It if was there would already be several thousand class action law suits filed. Anything Apple releases has to be 10000000000% right or they get sued. Fact of life.
Be thankful that Samsung is willing to stick their heads above the parapet and take a risk. Yes, it might fail but at least they are trying. Trying badly but look at all the attempts to make an aircraft before the Wright Brothers managed it.
This is as many commentators have said, not a device for the masses but there will be some who just have to have it, be seen to have it and then quietly discard it. Those 'dedicated followers of fashion' have to be applauded for wasting their money so we don't have to (Sic)
 
femike said:
Very impressed with the innovation of the Galaxy Fold. Sure it has many compromises at this stage but its fully usable, functional and the first foldable screen phone on the market. Improvements will come.
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Interesting. Clearly you're entitled to your viewpoint, but I have to wonder if you'd feel the same had you bought one and it started falling apart.
 
I mean, who asked for this product? It is impractical in every application and nobody will buy the ridiculous thing, other than people who want to subject the world to unboxing videos and drop tests.
 
Nah, I’ll pass on this. Not interested in folding smart phones. Don’t think they’ll be very reliable. And seriously, what’s the point. More gimmick than practical.
 
femike said:
Very impressed with the innovation of the Galaxy Fold. Sure it has many compromises at this stage but its fully usable, functional and the first foldable screen phone on the market. Improvements will come. It also comes with 12gb ram, 512gb storage, SD card slot, bi-directional wireless charging and includes a set of Samsung's wireless earbuds. In many ways it seems the Galaxy Fold has left the iPhone 11Pro in the dust.

Yea, people will say that Apple will have one that's better, but Apple's version is not out, and could be 5 years away, if that. Apple will use Samsung, Huawei, and the others as their research into what works and what doesn't before they release their own version.
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so what you’re saying is Apple will release a consumer ready product not a $2000 R&D project, I have no issue with Samsung but whilst this does seem cool it seems really half baked.
 
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realtuner said:
MR spent $2K to test what they will discover is a useless device?

If you’re going to throw money away, why not buy a pair of iPhone 11 Pros as giveaways for your readers? THAT would have been money well spent.
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All their iPhone 11 Pros are busy encoding videos for their site 😜
 
Double-Slit said:
Everything that is repeatedly folded, will eventually break.
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Everything eventually breaks. Not sure what the point is.

What needs to be determined is how much use a thing can withstand before it needs repaired or replaced and what we're seeing now is Samsung finally hitting a point where they think they might match consumer use with durability for the majority of users.

We'll see. Either way, great first entry.
 
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The launch of this phone its a bit like iOS 13 in software scale :)

True that there is something “magical” to opening it. But in the end of the day it seams that the all thing lacks substance as usual with Samsung. When folded it operates, looks and feels like a clumsy design solution.

Why is one side as thick as the other?I’ve seen display that are almost as thin as paper attached to a module. It made me wonder if something that simply looks like a cover could be developed ...
 
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