The Galaxy Fold was able to draw lots of attention due to it being a form of technology that no one has ever seen (well there were folding phones before but they were all too lacking). Since Samsung, a huge company, took a huge leap forward, there were many expectations for this nearly $2000 smartphone. However, some of the review units broke after only 2 days, although some of them were caused by human errors. So do the changes made for the Galaxy Fold matter?
Price
$1980. That’s how expensive this smartphone is. Remember when the iPhone X came out and $1000 was considered expensive? Well, the Fold exceeds that…by nearly double the price. I do understand that developing this form of technology would have taken a lot of workers, ideas, planning, materials etc., but how many consumers will be willing to purchase this device just for the new technology? I believe there are better options than to purchase this phone.
For example, purchasing one Galaxy s10 ($849.99) and Galaxy Tab s4 ($649.99) will be around $1500. As for the phone, the s10 is much better and advanced in terms of screen quality. The Galaxy Tab s4 also has a bigger screen for improved video consumption compared to the Fold’s tablet screen. In addition, there are more ways to lessen the amount of money spent by purchasing the s10e instead of the normal s10 and Galaxy Tab s5e.
There are more options if Apple devices are an option. If a person was to purchase an iPhone Xs ($1000) and iPad Pro 2019 ($799.00), it would be around $1800. This is still cheaper than the Galaxy Fold, but if a person didn’t need all of these bells-and-whistles, the iPhone Xr, iPad Air 2019, and iPad 6 are still available for a cheaper price. These cheaper devices still offer more than the Fold so I believe it will be more worth the money to just purchase a close-to-perfection smartphone and tablet.
Quality
The phone screen of the Galaxy Fold is 4.6 inches, which is definitely not a small size. However, the bezels are extremely thick and not fitting in 2019. As a person who owns a Note 9 with a 6.4 inch display and relatively small bezels, I don’t think I’d be able to go back to a screen size so small with thick bezels.
For the tablet portion, the screen size is 7.3 inches, which is smaller than all of the tablets mentions above. I feel that the Fold is too small to be a phone or a tablet. There is nothing about the Fold that will bring full satisfaction to the consumer.
The weight of this smartphone is 263 grams. Considering the fact that the iPad Pro 2019 11″ weighs 468 grams, the Fold is substantially lighter. However, in comparison to the Galaxy s10e which weighs 150 grams, the Fold is like a brick phone. Remember, phones are used for its compactness and comfort when carrying it around. Carrying the phone for too long will cause wrist pain and bring discomfort.
What’s the catch?
Innovation. Although I can’t recommend anyone to purchase this 1st gen Fold, it is a huge turning point for future smartphones since this “beta” phone will serve as a foundation for other companies and Samsung. This new form of technology is why people are praising Samsung regardless of the fact that the phone still has lots to improve on.
Conclusion
I am very glad Samsung made this bold move to trigger the world of smartphones. This move will force the other companies to develop other forms of technology that would actually benefit the consumers. However, this isn’t the phone to get. There are still many changes that need to be made for it to actually be integrated wisely into people’s daily lives. I understand what the purpose of a folding phone is, and if the perfect folding phone is to be developed, it would truly be beneficial. However, Samsung has not reached that point yet and there are better deals elsewhere since there are still many problems with the phone that need to be discussed.
So back to the question: Do the changes made for the Galaxy Fold matter?
No. However, since the idea is amazing, after a few refinements are made, its successors would be a huge success.
Rachel’s Reviews 