Samsung's revised Galaxy Fold gets tested at IFA 2019

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,256   +192
Staff member
Bottom line: Tech writers at IFA 2019 still collectively seem high on the device despite the early launch hiccups and high price tag. The changes Samsung has implemented will no doubt lower the odds of the phone breaking out of the box but long-term durability on new and unproven tech remains a mystery that won’t be solved anytime soon.

Samsung’s Galaxy Fold fiasco has been well documented. The futuristic folding phone was set to launch this past spring yet at the 11th hour, Samsung postponed its release in the wake of multiple early review units breaking.


Some of the handsets died by natural causes. A piece of debris somehow got under the screen of the unit that The Verge was testing, for example. Others were inadvertently destroyed when reviewers mistakenly peeled off what they thought was a factory installed screen protector. The film in question was actually part of the screen and removing it wrecked the device.

If skilled tech reviewers mistook this for a screen protector, what would happen to devices in the hands of ordinary consumers?

Samsung went back to the drawing board and spent the last five months trying to salvage the Galaxy Fold. What they settled on is a three-pronged approach designed to further shield the delicate folding display from accidental damage.

It starts with a revamped hinge mechanism that’s much sturdier than before. The new hinge also minimizes the gap between itself and the displays which should help keep dirt and debris from finding making inroads.

Samsung has also added clips, or end caps, to the top and bottom seams of the device – again, to serve as a barrier against dirt and debris. They’re noticeable but don’t seem to overly stand out. If you didn’t know they weren’t there in the original, you probably wouldn’t think much of them.

Last but certainly not least is that screen protector-like film from the original. It’s still present but Samsung has extended the edges a bit so they now tuck under the phone’s bezels, eliminating them as a potential fail point.

The revamped Samsung Galaxy Fold launches in South Korea on September 6 before landing in the UK, Singapore and Germany in a couple of weeks. A US launch date has not yet been revealed.

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No doubt the technology is cool but the price?!?!?! I saw a "hillbilly" fold-able the other day .... yep, it was two phones with a slab of duct tape on the back ........ you can't fight ingenuity .... not even stupid ingenuity ...
 
Folded the screen resolution looks atrocious, Unfolded you get what looks like a nice small tablet with a huge ugly crease down the center. Notice how they used a solid black wallpaper so you can't see it unless light hits it, because it distorts colors.
 
Folded the screen resolution looks atrocious, Unfolded you get what looks like a nice small tablet with a huge ugly crease down the center. Notice how they used a solid black wallpaper so you can't see it unless light hits it, because it distorts colors.

It's truly an answer to a question no one asked.

And the Hua Wei Mate X makes more sense.
 
Folded the screen resolution looks atrocious, Unfolded you get what looks like a nice small tablet with a huge ugly crease down the center. Notice how they used a solid black wallpaper so you can't see it unless light hits it, because it distorts colors.
LOL.. Love your comment, esp, "atrocious" and "huge ugly crease".

It's unwanted and obviously awkward to hold and use, that the reviewers of course won't divulge.
 
First adopters will love it, but, I just don't see what "justifies" the price considering build costs for even the most expensive smartphones is less than $400 bucks. This is basically a larger screen (the oled isn't THAT expensive) with a crease down the middle. But, hey, it ain't MY money and I wouldn't spend it on a first gen (well actually it's a 1.1 version) device like that.
I think the "youtube/instagram influencer" types might buy it, just in hopes of cranking out more hits, along with the tech types, but your average Joe isn't going to shell out TWO GRAND for this thing. Limited supply & availability...marketing which Samsung might use to say "it sold out"...yeah if you only built 1,000 of them LOL.
 
Instead of wasting time and resources on trying to bring a stupid idea like this to market they should focus on something worthwhile instead. Things like better battery tech or making regular phones lighter, stronger, etc. I have a regular phone and it's too heavy for my liking, so you'll certainly never see me with a folding phone that weighs twice as much!
 
The "regular" Samsung Android phones cost over $1000 and new the Foldable gimmick starts at $2000....and yet the Android fan club still whines that Apple is so expensive....!!
 
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