It’s Big, It’s Clever… But Is The Samsung Galaxy Fold ACTUALLY Any Good?

Richard Goodwin 21/02/2019 – 3:46pm

First-generation devices are always glitchy. Can the Samsung Galaxy Fold buck the trend? Or should you wait for the Galaxy Fold 2?

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is FINALLY here, after years of waiting and, quite literally, an entire ocean of rumors. It costs $2000 and it is a true, folding phone just like we imagined.

But here’s the thing: is it actually any good? First-generation products are always, well… a little be glitchy. They’re never “quite” finished; usually, there are design issues and things that don’t quite work as well as they should.

Just look at the iPhone, the iPad, the Microsoft Surface RT… and pretty much every other first-generation “game-changing” product.

They made big waves but the devices themselves were far from perfect.

Samsung Galaxy Fold Specs – What Makes It Tick

The design is simple, innovative, and completely unique – no one has is doing this right now. That won’t last long (Apple's doing one, of course), but for now, Samsung is the first – just as it was with the phablet.

The Galaxy Fold, from the front, looks like a normal phone. It has a 4.3in display and is fairly chunky (my first concern). Things get interesting when you open it up, as this reveals an expansive 7.3in foldable display (with no creases or anything).

Specs-wise, you’re looking at the following under the hood:

• Display size: 4.6-inch Super AMOLED; 7.3-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED
• OS: Android 9.0 with Samsung One UI
• Camera: 16-megapixel (ultra-wide-angle), 12-megapixel (wide-angle), 12-megapixel (telephoto)
• Front-facing camera: Two 10-megapixel, 8-megapixel 3D depth
• Processor: Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
• Storage: 512GB
• RAM: 12GB
• Expandable storage: None
• Battery: 4,380
• Fingerprint sensor: Right side of the phone

That’s a pretty meaty array of specs right there. You got 12GB of RAM, over half a terabyte of storage (512GB), a truly INSANE camera arsenal (six in total), and a beautiful AMOLED panel.

So far, so good, right? Yeah, pretty much. In fact, for me the only issue is the price – at $2000 is it mightily expensive.

That means it will be a pure early-adopter phone because, let's face it, most people aren’t willing to spend $2000 on a phone, even if it does look like it was dropped by a time traveler from the year 2028.

To be honest, the specs are super-solid. In this respect, I have ZERO complaints. The only possible issues I have with the device, the things that will annoy early-adopters when the 2nd generation version comes out, are to do with its physical design.

Samsung Galaxy Fold Nitpicks

As I said in the title of this section: these are “nitpicks” – not criticisms. They’re just observations. Things that stood out to me during the launch and demo of the device.

• The device looks VERY chunky and kind of fat
• The 7.3in display isn’t really that much more than 6.5in
• The hinge on the side doesn’t close completely flush to the device
• It costs an INSANE amount of money

For a first-generation, truly innovative device Samsung has done exceptionally well here. I love the ballsiness of this device, the fact that there is nothing else like it on market. I also like that whoever brings a foldable phone to market next will be accused of copying Samsung.
For this reason, I really hope it is Apple.

All told, I am very impressed by this phone. It looks great and while there are definitely some design wiggles that need to be worked out for the Galaxy Fold 2, I genuinely think Samsung has smashed the ball way outta the park with this one.

Pre-orders will be taking place on Samsung's official website later on this year…