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[Voost Kain]

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Samsung is using a new 7.3-inch Infinity Flex Display that allows the phone itself to have a tablet-sized screen that can be folded to fit into a pocket. The main display is QXGA+ resolution (4.2:3), and when it’s folded, a smaller 4.6-inch HD+ (12:9) display is used for the phone mode. Samsung is using 512GB of Universal Flash Storage 3.0 (eUFS) for fast speeds, alongside a Qualcomm 7nm octa-core processor and 12GB of RAM. Samsung has even built two batteries for its Galaxy Fold, that are separated by the fold but combined in the Android operating system to represent a total of 4,380 mAh.

Samsung is planning to launch the Galaxy Fold on April 26th, starting at $1,980, through AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, with a free pair of Samsung’s new wireless earbuds. There will be both an LTE and 5G version of the Galaxy Fold, and Samsung is even planning on launching the device in Europe on May 3rd, starting at 2,000 euros.

Also it's being rumored that it will be $50 (or possible more) a month which would be one of, if not the most expensive monthly payment plan for a phone. But at least for those interested there's a way to get the phone without paying $200 upfront.

Concerned about the 2 batteries though, given Samsungs history. I'm not just talking about the exploding batteries either, but several issues that cause the batteries to drain and hold less charge in a short time. That would piss anyone off since batteries will be non-removable.

One thing that caught my eye was lack of headphone jack. Which is usually a feature that can sway me one way or the other.

 

[God Enel]

Not sure what to think about it. is this the future?

 

[Mihos]

I was going to honestly going to preorder this phone, but I don't think I can get past that chunk that they took out of what was a beautiful looking screen when unfolded.

I hate the whole notch/hole/chunk missing trend in displays

 

[Musky_Cheese]

I don't want to pinch my fingers

But I want to be Elite

 

[cryptoadam]

Its pretty cool but not spending 2K on a phone.

But in a few years the tech will get pushed forward and the price will come down.

 

[AgentP]

It looks like an SNL parody commercial.

 

[Cunth]

Dat corner notch

 

[Ichabod]

Disappointing price point. That's more than I spent on my gaming pc. Looks like I won't be upgrading my phone this year.

 

[Fbh]

It's definitely a neat concept.
Once you can get one of these without a massive bezel while folded, without an ugly corner notch while unfolded and for substantially less than $2k I might be interested.

So galaxy Fold 5 or 6 here I come!!!!

 

[DrNeroCF]

I can't imagine needing to pull out your phone and unfold it before using the bigger screen to be a better experience... can't hold it with one hand, twice as thick in your pocket...

justbecauseyoucould.gif

I'm mostly curious as to how the plastic in the middle doesn't crease. There's no way it won't create a line in the middle after a lot of use, right?

In the video of the actual phone, you can see how the coating is a plastic that's not completely flat, wonder how it looks straight on.

 

[EviLore]

Is that a 7.3" Infinity Flex Display in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

 

[godhandiscen]

Pay $2k to join our hardware beta.

 

[Johnny Cage In The Shower]

Pay $2k to join our hardware beta.

Basically this, no way a first gen of this hardware is going to be perfectly reliable without issues creeping up after a few months... and at $1,900 price point. I am not taking a huge gamble on it... Also, s someone said.. size and bulk seems very impractical for everyday use, sure the open fold phone may be like a nice small size tablet that you could do a lot with, but how many times a day you want to be arsed to open it up and play with it?

 

[eddie4]

I'm fine with a 5" screen, thanks. Plus this is the first version, it's gonna be shit. I'll just wait for the Apple iFold , starting at $2,499!

 

[Digital Gex]

I can't imagine needing to pull out your phone and unfold it before using the bigger screen to be a better experience... can't hold it with one hand, twice as thick in your pocket...

justbecauseyoucould.gif

I'm mostly curious as to how the plastic in the middle doesn't crease. There's no way it won't create a line in the middle after a lot of use, right?

In the video of the actual phone, you can see how the coating is a plastic that's not completely flat, wonder how it looks straight on.

From what I've found, the phone doesnt actually close all the way and has a few millimeters of space, and since the display is plastic that MAY prevent a crease. On paper.

But Samsung also said you can fold the phone hundreds of thousands of times. They don't say "until what" though.

For all we know after the 234,798 fold both batteries explode.

 

[Corrik]

No thanks on that. Galaxy s8 remains the optimal phone for the foreseeable future.

 

[lingpanda]

A bit too thick at the moment when folded, but the overall feature set is very impressive. I'm awaiting revision 2.

 

[ConnorDuffy1977]

The $130 Galaxy Buds look pretty cool.

 

[HoodWinked]

the problem with a folding phone is the bulk. but you cant just simply remove the bulk since you also need the bulk to reinforce the structure when in unfolded mode.

 

[michaelius]

Looks pretty cool and I can see myself owning phone like this in the future but lol not at that price.

 

[Neverwas]

i'll stick with my crappy $120 phone.

 

[Pagusas]

Looks horrible, but it’s important to remember this is because beta hardware for idiots to test. It’s to thick, the mai. Phone screen looks silly and tiny, and the whole thing just looks tacky. Hopefully gen 2 will be what we all are hoping for.

 

[DeafTourette]

I like it. Maybe in 2 years when it's down to 600

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

As far as I know there's never before been a screen that bends, that's pretty mind blowing.

 

[KINDERFELD]

I can envision with one accidental and oblivious click of a button, your outside screen mirroring everything you're doing on your inside screen...

 

[cryptoadam]

Was on the foldable phone train, but seeing more and more of these and I think foldable phones are going to flop like 3D TV's. Its just tech no one is really asking for.

The problem is you either fold out and have a screen on the back, or fold in and then have to add a 3rd screen like Samsung did.

Either way is not an elegant solution to a problem that doesn't exist. The real big deal will be rollable or multi fold phones.

I rock a Note 9 and prefer a big phone. But I never found myself wanting a 7 or 8 inch tablet instead of my phone. With how popular phablets are anyways I don't see people going with these over the 6.4 or so inch phones most companies put out now a days.

 

[Rentahamster]

Its just tech no one is really asking for.

I asked for it.

 

[Ovek]

Nah the Samsung Fold’s design is a shit show of awful... what you want is something like the Huawei Mate X.

Of course exposing the bent screen edge to the elements in your pocket/handbag seems like a major risk. One would hope that they have developed a nice scratch resistant bendable plastic to go over that bendy oled panel though so time will tell.

Regardless it still isn’t going to be cheap albeit cheaper than the Fold, going to guess it will start at £1200.

For me the desire to have a folding tablet/phone hybrid (and trust me I really want one) can’t quite justify the cost involved at the moment.

 

[mekes]

I can’t see this selling well. People won’t want to pay $2000 for a Galaxy tab that folds into a phone type they’ve been desperately trying to make obsolete (thick with huge borders) for the past several years.

 

[KINDERFELD]

Nah the Samsung Fold’s design is a shit show of awful... what you want is something like the Huawei Mate X.

Of course exposing the bent screen edge to the elements in your pocket/handbag seems like a major risk. One would hope that they have developed a nice scratch resistant bendable plastic to go over that bendy oled panel though so time will tell.

Regardless it still isn’t going to be cheap albeit cheaper than the Fold, going to guess it will start at £1200.

For me the desire to have a folding tablet/phone hybrid (and trust me I really want one) can’t quite justify the cost involved at the moment.

The Huawei Mate X is nowhere worth £1200.
Its weaker than the Galaxy S9+, has a smaller screen with lower resolution, worse processors, isn't VR ready, has no memory card slot, no stereo speakers, no wireless charging and to top it all off, cost more.

 

[Ovek]

The Huawei Mate X is nowhere worth £1200.
Its weaker than the Galaxy S9+, has a smaller screen with lower resolution, worse processors, isn't VR ready, has no memory card slot, no stereo speakers, no wireless charging and to top it all off, cost more.

I wouldn't go comparing it to a year old phone considering the Mate X it hasn't even been announced yet.

Edit: scratch that it's just been announced: https://www.engadget.com/2019/02/24/huawei-mate-x-first-look-foldable-5g/#/

 

[KINDERFELD]

I wouldn't go comparing it to a year old phone considering the Mate X it hasn't even been announced yet.

Edit: scratch that it's just been announced: https://www.engadget.com/2019/02/24/huawei-mate-x-first-look-foldable-5g/#/

Yeah Ijust got finished watching the conference.
I was assuming the Mate X was the same as the Mate 10.
I apologize.

The Mate X is a very nice looking phone. Looks better than the Samsung Fold however, who is going to pay $2500 Us dollars for that. Its price is ludicrous.

 

[Ovek]

The Mate X is a very nice looking phone. Looks better than the Samsung Fold however, who is going to pay $2500 Us dollars for that. Its price is ludicrous.

I know my estimate was well off by almost £1000! Damn I would have never thought they would have priced it higher than the Fold. Apart from the obvious priced gouging my Samsung and Huawei those bending OLED screens but be expensive to manufacture.

Well looks like i'm going to wait about 3 or so years before the prices comes down to something i'm comfortable paying.

 

[Chittagong]

While conceptually I love it, and the UI continuity is impressive, you just can’t get around the fact that it will always be *at least* twice as thick as a regular phone.

Consider the stacks:

Regular phone

Glass
Screen
PWB/Battery
B cover

Fold

Glass
Screen
PWB/Battery
Screen
Glass
Glass
Screen
PWB/Battery
B cover

Any time any of those components gets thinner, regular phone gets thinner. So a fold is always around twice as thick as a regular phone. All they can lose from the stack to make it thinner is the second PWB/battery.

 

[Stitch]

wow the Mate X is even more expensive. Oh well maybe in a few years I can get a cheap foldable Honor phone.

 

[Fbh]

I wouldn't go comparing it to a year old phone considering the Mate X it hasn't even been announced yet.

Edit: scratch that it's just been announced: https://www.engadget.com/2019/02/24/huawei-mate-x-first-look-foldable-5g/#/

Hmmm.
From a purely design perspective it's definitely nicer than the Samsung. It seems thinner, when folded you get a nice big screen with a thin bezel as opposed to some giant black borders, and when unfolded you get an even rectangular screen instead of a weird border notch.

But having the whole exterior of the phone be a big breakable screen seems like risky idea, specially with no way to use a case with these devices.

Also just when $2000 for the Galaxy Fold sounded crazy here comes this for $2500

 

[RedVIper]

I just don't see the benefit.
But I don't really care about phones in general anyway.

 

[cryptoadam]

Nah the Samsung Fold’s design is a shit show of awful... what you want is something like the Huawei Mate X.

Of course exposing the bent screen edge to the elements in your pocket/handbag seems like a major risk. One would hope that they have developed a nice scratch resistant bendable plastic to go over that bendy oled panel though so time will tell.

Regardless it still isn’t going to be cheap albeit cheaper than the Fold, going to guess it will start at £1200.

For me the desire to have a folding tablet/phone hybrid (and trust me I really want one) can’t quite justify the cost involved at the moment.

Isnt the pirce 2200?

Also the problem with the outward fold is the back of the phone is screen. Try holding your phone backwards and you will see how awkward it is to have a screen on the back of your phone.

Thats the problem with the folding. Either the back of your phone is a screen, or you have to fold in and have 2 screens.

This is only going to work once we get multi folding phones.

 

[KINDERFELD]

I'm yet to find an actual need for a tablet apart from it being a device you put in front your kids so you can distract them and get a little freetime to yourself.

Apart from that, its quite a redundant device.
So with that in mind, $2000-$2500 for a phone that can double as a tablet, is extremely pointless to me apart from aesthetics.

 

[cryptoadam]

I asked for it.

Not like this.

What you want is multi folding phones or rollable screens.

This tech has a crease in the fold, and either an awkward out fold with a screen on the back of your phone or an inward fold that requires a 2nd screen.

The idea of the tech is better than the execution. And I was a HUGE fan of this idea and really wanted to see these foldable phones.

Now that they are real they need to go back to the drawing board.

 

[nbcjr]

Huawei s foldable is multiple times better

 

[DESTROYA]

How do you even know without trying either?
I think it’s a extremely stupid idea to begin with, expect to see screens broken in half by accidentally sitting on your phone horror stories. The screen bulges when folded, I can’t see this ending well with just general wear and tear.
“What I paid 2 grand for this!” No thanks.

 

[lil puff]

Just looks like something waiting to be stolen.

At the end of the day, for me, it's a phone for making phone calls.

A process that is, in no way worth 2K. My $150 phone call is the same as your $2000 call.

 

[Voost Kain]

Just looks like something waiting to be stolen.

At the end of the day, for me, it's a phone for making phone calls.

A process that is, in no way worth 2K. My $150 phone call is the same as your $2000 call.

But, what if you don't have a computer?

Shoom, now you have a magical all-in-one device for only $20 less than $2000!

 

[Fbh]

I'm yet to find an actual need for a tablet apart from it being a device you put in front your kids so you can distract them and get a little freetime to yourself.

They are nice for stuff like reading the news, reading digital comics/manga and as a portable way to watch Youtube/netflix/etc on a decently sized screen.
The thing is though. For $2500 you can buy a good laptop, a good phone and a good tablet

 

[Voost Kain]

They are nice for stuff like reading the news, reading digital comics/manga and as a portable way to watch Youtube/netflix/etc on a decently sized screen.
The thing is though. For $2500 you can buy a good laptop, a good phone and a good tablet

Well a good phone these days is around $1100 for the Iphone SX. Samsung Tab 3 is around $800 or $900 for Surface laptop(not book). So you still need to buy a laptop and those usually run $700 for a decent amount of internals.

So that's $2600, $100 more than the $2500 you proposed, and for an all-in-one device that can fit in you're pocket.

So i can see it work either way.

 

[Fbh]

Well a good phone these days is around $1100 for the Iphone SX. Samsung Tab 3 is around $800 or $900 for Surface laptop(not book). So you still need to buy a laptop and those usually run $700 for a decent amount of internals.

So that's $2600, $100 more than the $2500 you proposed, and for an all-in-one device that can fit in you're pocket.

So i can see it work either way.

Sure if by "good" you mean "newest and top of the line".
But you could also buy a Samsung S9 which is still a really good phone for like $550, a regular Ipad which IMO does everything the average user needs from a tablet which is around $250, and you still have $1700 which will buy you a pretty great laptop.

Or adjust that in any number of ways: Get a cheaper laptop but a better tablet or phone, or get no tablet, buy a decent 2in1 laptop like an XPS and spend more on the phone, or get a latest gen Ipad Pro, a good laptop and a cheap but perfectly functional Phole like One plus 5T, etc, etc, etc,.


Of course everyone is free to spend their money on what they want. And I'm sure there's people that will find a small tablet you can fold to fit into your pocket really useful. But personally I just think there's plenty of better ways to spend 2.5K on tech