Following months of teasing and speculation Samsung takes to the Unpacked stage to officially present its foldable phone-- the simply named Galaxy Fold, a smartphone customers can open into a 7.3-inch tablet-style display.
The Fold consists of two displays, a main "Infinity Flex" 1536 x 2152 resolution and a smaller 4.6-inch 1600 x 900 display on the back. When closed, the Fold acts like any other smartphone, but once opened content from the small display seamlessly appears on the larger screen. Samsung claims the backbone holding the device together can withstand thousands of folds, thanks to a hinge system consisting of multiple interlocking gears hidden at the rear of the device.
Powering the device are a Qualcomm 7nm octa-core processor, 12GB RAM, 512GB Universal Flash Storage 3.0 (eUFS) and 2 batteries making a total of 4380mAh. The back also includes a triple-camera system, with a main ultra-wide 16MP shooter plus 12MP wide-angle and telephoto cameras. A 10MP camera on the front handles selfie duties. Security comes through a fingerprint reader on the frame.
On the software side the Fold runs on Android Pie, if a version tweaked in collaboration with Google to ensure it runs smoothly on the foldable display. As such it includes an app continuity system allowing seamless transitions between phone and tablet modes, as well as means to run no less than 3 apps simultaneously on the device. Samsung says a number of key apps are already optimised to run on the Fold, including WhatsApp, Microsoft Office and YouTube.
The Galaxy Fold hits European markets from April 2019 with an eye watering €2000 pricetag and a choice of four colours, "Cosmo Black," "Space Silver," "Martian Green" and "Astro Blue."
