Samsung just blew everybody’s minds by announcing the launch of the Galaxy Fold. It’s unique, loaded with features and stands to revolutionise smartphones as we know it. Oh, and the price? Read more here!
Oh, my GOD! Yes, I had to start this way. That’s my state of mind ever since I watched Samsung unveil their new Galaxy Fold a few hours ago. I’m not going to pretend that I’m a tech geek, or that I own all the latest gadgets. However, I know a revolutionary piece of technology when I see one. This is the beginning of something really special. Other brands will probably scramble for a piece of the pie and bring their own versions of this device to the market. But let it be known that Samsung started this. We shall not forget.
Samsung fans are probably reaching for their Credit Cards right now. Ahem, we’ll talk about the price later.
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Let’s face it. Samsung’s always been right there when it comes to cutting-edge technology. I remember very distinctly how Samsung brought these tiny flip phones to the market back in the day. Such small and stunning packages were unheard of. They became all the rage and others followed suit. Over the years, Samsung has been delighting customers with the Note and the Galaxy range of phones. They’re loaded with features and users swear by them. Today, they strike again. Though some ‘explosive’ news did dampen their image, it seems to have been forgotten. I was very tempted to get the S9 recently. However, I find a certain fruit more to my liking. But that’s a discussion for another time.
The folding phone isn’t unheard of. Royole’s FlexPai was one of the first ones to take a shot at it. It was met with mixed reviews. A valiant attempt but the UI was sort of a hit and miss. Intriguing for sure. However, Samsung’s new Galaxy Fold appears to be a winner all the way. It’s being said that folding smartphones hinge on the success of this particular model.
At first glance, it looks like any smartphone. Then it opens up to reveal a second display, which effectively makes the phone look like an awesome tablet. The two OLED displays: a 4.6-inch, 21:9, 1960×840-resolution panel serves as a more traditional smartphone display, and a foldable 7.3-inch, 4.2:3, 2152×1536-resolution panel behaves more like a tablet. Looks premium to the core. The phone, which can operate three apps simultaneously boasts six cameras: a 10MP camera above the smaller screen, three rear cameras—a 16MP ultra-wide camera, a 12MP wide-angle camera, and a 12MP telephoto camera—on the back. There’s also a 10MP selfie camera and an 8MP RGB depth camera in the notch above the larger display. Samsung has confirmed that it will sell both LTE and 5G-capable variants.
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OLED panels are flexible. This allows users to close the Galaxy Fold like a book. Samsung uses a hinge system with “multiple interlocking gears” to create the fold and Samsung claims it is hidden from view (certainly looks like it). The Galaxy Fold doesn’t fold completely in half. There is a noticeable gap in the centre of the device when it is closed. When it is folded, the smaller screen is surrounded by gigantic bezels. The larger display, meanwhile, looks more like a modern tablet – it’s hard to miss the notch in the top-right corner.
Samsung has said that the display used here is about 50 % thinner than the standard smartphone display. It’s like two devices in one so it does appear to be pretty thick. We don’t know the specific dimensions just yet. The Galaxy Fold runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor and 12GB of RAM. It has 512GB of UFS 3.0 storage. It also has dual batteries that offer a combined 4,380mAh capacity. Whoa!
I know what you’re thinking. You’ll probably need to get a Personal Loan to afford all this awesomeness. Depends on how much you have saved, really. But yes, all this won’t come cheap. Price reveal – coming shortly.
Wireless charging? Of course! It can also charge a second device while charging itself. The phone supports WPC and PMA wireless charging, and it works with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 standard when powered with a wire. You’ll find a fingerprint scanner on the side and stereo speakers. No sign of a headphone jack or microSD slot – pretty standard these days.
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So, the big question – how much does it cost? Starts at a whopping US$ 1980! That’s around Rs.1,40,887.89 as of today. Yep, all the coolness doesn’t come cheap, does it? Well, don’t be disheartened. And if you really, really want it, perhaps consider Credit Card EMIs. Not giving ideas but with cashback and rewards, it might not be all that bad. But again, you really, really have to want it to get it at this price. I’d love to own one for sure. If anyone’s feeling generous and has a huge chunk of change to spare, you know where to find me.
There you have it. If you’re considering this beautiful piece of technology, you might want to start sorting out your finances. BankBazaar at your service!