Why You Should Wait for the Purchase of the Samsung Galaxy Fold
I’m a little more excited to see the Samsung Galaxy Fold now that the manufacturer has fixed all issues with the initial batch of review devices that the company sent out this spring. The largest of these was a thin protective layer of polymer, which initially looked like a screen protector that you remove from your device before using it – not the case for the Galaxy Fold as it will seriously ruin your device.
Now that Samsung has made it nearly impossible to remove this polymer and reinforced other aspects of the device’s hinge design, the Galaxy Fold is finally ready for prime time. But does it deserve a place in your pocket? I’m not convinced – and I don’t think this is a device that you’ll want to pre-order so that you can essentially beta test a whole new experience.
You could buy a great laptop instead
Real Conversation: The Galaxy Fold is priced at around $ 1,980 before taxes. On the one hand, this figure makes sense, since the Galaxy Fold is essentially two premium smartphones mixed together – hence its cost double that of the Galaxy-S10 +. However, you actually end up with a smaller screen size (7.3 inches diagonally) than if you actually found a way to attach two Galaxy S10 + devices to each other (roughly 8.8 inches diagonally minus what would be eat the front panel). ).
I understand that we are now living in an era where the $ 1000 smartphone is the new norm. And even if you had said that five years ago, nothing would have changed, because the 2015 iPhone 6 Plus would still have cost you $ 749 for the pitiful 16GB version (no contract) and $ 949 for the 128GB version. And while there are plenty of great modern smartphones you can get for under $ 1,000 – here you go, the Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL – I think we’ve all been immune to the four-figure premium prices.
That is, desensitized, but not completely numb. Buying a smartphone worth over $ 2,000 seems like a dumb idea. I think the technology is so advanced that your device probably won’t be obsolete in a year or two. Heck, I’m still spinning the iPhone X (2017) and I don’t think I will need to shop for anything new this fall.
I have no doubt that someday Samsung will release an updated Galaxy Fold – assuming the original sells well – that will give you a prettier screen on the front instead of that tiny ugly 4.6-inch display with giant black bezels on top and bottom. You will also likely get a thinner device with less weight and longer battery life, as well as something that you can draw on with a stylus. This seems like a critical omission in this first round folding device.
While it’s foolish to put off buying anything because you’re worried that a better version will come out in a year or so, there is something to be said for allowing everyone else to get to the ground floor in an entirely new category. If you’re patient, you can save some money with an add-on device that, ideally, fixes a lot of the initial bugs. I mean, just look that Samsung was ready to kick reviewers earlier this year; Imagine the disaster the company would have had if it launched the Galaxy Fold in April – polymer screen, broken displays and all that. In this case, I would have waited for Samsung’s tick, not its tick.
This is one fat smartphone
You will feel awfully cool holding the unfolded Galaxy Fold in front of your face, playing games, reading the news, or using three apps at once on its giant (smartphone) display. You’ll feel a lot less cool when you’re done with what you’re doing and have to fold your smartphone down again and carry it with you — an unsightly pocket bulges to the bone.
While this analogy of mixing two smartphones may have seemed a little silly before, when I mentioned the Galaxy Fold’s screen size, it is quite appropriate when it comes to its thickness. Because when you fold that device down again, it’s like stacking two smartphones on top of each other and tucking this monster in your pocket – about 0.6 inches longer than its 6.3-inch length.
I’ve sometimes had to carry two smartphones with me for work or testing, and it makes you look pretty darn stupid when you put both of them in the same pocket of a sensible pair of jeans. Obviously the solution is to separate them, but you won’t have that luxury with the ultra-thin Galaxy Fold. As my colleagues at Gizmodo shared when Samsung first announced the Galaxy:
“Let’s talk generously about the opportunities. The Galaxy S10 is 7.8mm thick. Let’s say a new device is somehow thinner than two clamped together. Even at 14mm, it will be significantly thicker than the first-generation 2009 Samsung Galaxy (11.9mm) or the first-generation iPhone (11.6mm). This is almost exactly the same thickness as the Nintendo Switch. I’ll wait for you to fish your Switch out of your backpack and decide if you need such a fat phone in your pocket. “
The only thing they were wrong about in this description was their estimate of the thickness of the fold of the Galaxy. This is bigger. I listed inches above, but according to Samsung’s official specs, the folded thickness of the Galaxy Fold is between 15.5 and 17 mm. It’s a hefty smartphone and you have nothing else to deal with when you’re on the go.
If it’s not popular, apps won’t optimize for it
Reading various early Galaxy Fold reviews, I was troubled by one glaring issue raised by Engadget’s Chris Velasco when moving apps from the device’s smaller “normal” screen to its giant, larger screen:
“Most of the software that I use regularly, such as Kindle, Chrome, Slack, Gmail, Todoist and Twitter, handle the big screen transition without issue, allowing me to pick up where I left off. Other apps, like Lightroom CC, aren’t quite as nifty. In such cases, opening the fold opens a standard smartphone-sized application window, framed by large black stripes. This hasn’t happened often since I started testing the Fold, but the fix is always the same: you have to close the app and restart it on that big screen to get the full effect. If you happen to rely on apps that do not fully support Fold screen trickery, it will quickly become outdated. “
I expect most app developers will have to tweak their software at some point to work well with foldable devices, but I don’t think they’ll be in a rush as long as these early devices cost as much as they do. … Cost will have a big impact on install base – since the average person doesn’t buy a $ 2,000 smartphone – and as with VR, I don’t think most developers will run out the door to make their app look perfect. on a 7.3-inch display with a 4: 3 aspect ratio that few own. As Velasco describes:
“The number of Android apps optimized for tablets is also quite small, and whether you have had this experience on the Fold seems ridiculous. Only a few apps, like Gmail, recognize that they have to serve up the Fold tablet interface; all the other apps I’ve tested perceive this thing as a big phone with a slightly odd 4.2: 3 aspect ratio. Some apps like Instagram fill both Fold screens but not correctly. When I looked at people’s Instagram stories, the top and bottom were always cut off. On the smaller front screen, the sides have been truncated. Google is providing proper support for foldable devices in its upcoming Android Q release, but until then, developers who are concerned about supporting early foldable devices will have to work with some additional Galaxy Fold-specific features here. “
Back to the price for a moment, I think this experience will get people to the Galaxy Fold very quickly in the first place. When you pay that much for something, you want it to work seamlessly. You don’t want to wait for your favorite apps to catch up; you want them to look great on your expensive smartphone once you’re done setting it up. You don’t want to wait for an app update to arrive – if it ever happens – for it to look incredible.
It remains to be seen how easy it will be to customize apps for foldable devices in Android Q. More importantly, we don’t know how long it might take for Samsung to deploy Android Q on its smartphones. Since the company is not known to be in a rush with this, it is possible the Galaxy Fold will be stuck with Android P for a while. No app optimizations for you owners of massive $ 2,000 smartphones.
September is the worst time to launch a new smartphone
Let’s face it; Apple owns September. This is a major time for the iPhone announcement and release. And even if you already think that a triple camera setup on the next iPhone looks silly, you’ll be paying attention to Apple’s large (reasonably priced) iPhone lineup far more than Samsung’s single $ 2,000 smartphone launch.
Even Google itself is avoiding September launches of its smartphones. Samsung, with rapids on the horizon, is racing ahead instead and promises to launch the Galaxy Fold at some unknown point in September.
If Samsung is smart, they’ll pick a window as far away from the launch of the new iPhone as possible – which, of course, means they’ll likely launch the Galaxy Fold on Apple’s launch day or something. Worse, for Samsung, the September window also puts the Galaxy Fold right in the crosshairs of Huawei’s alleged launch of Huawei’s refreshed foldable Mate X.
In other words, you will have a lot of options to search for if you are about to update your smartphone in the fall. I would wait to see what comes out – and what people think of it – instead of pre-ordering right now.