Samsung Galaxy Fold Review: Is This The Future Of Smartphones?

Back in April 2019, the first batch of review units of the Samsung Galaxy Fold had issues, but instead of sweeping it under the rug and completely giving up on the Fold, Samsung rectified the issues and finally pushed this phone out to production. Let’s take a look at the phone that we think could be the future of the industry.

It’s running a Snapdragon 855, which is a bit disappointing since it’s a really premium phone and it could use the Snapdragon 855+ for even more computing power. There’s 12GB of RAM, 512GB of storage with a 4,380mAh battery powering it all. The front display is a 4.6″ HD+ Super AMOLED, with the main internal display being a 7.3″ QXGA Dynamic AMOLED panel.

There’s no jittering or lag in the phone, the Snapdragon 855 and 12GB of RAM work together to ensure that everything on the phone is smooth and feels excellent.

This is the first folding phone out in the market, and you might think that it’s a chunky device. That’s partially true, but it’s narrower than you might think. The weight definitely is on the higher side (263g), but considering this is essentially two phones sandwiched into one, it’s understandable.

It definitely feels premium, similar to the Vertu phones of old. The Fold has the same luxury feel. There’s a display on the front which isn’t the largest, but it’s big enough for information display and typing.

The back is made with glass, which allows for wireless charging. It looks beautiful, and when you open the phone up, that’s when the magic happens. There’s a bigger bezel around the inside screen to ensure that the film that was previously mistaken as a screen protector isn’t peeled off.

Bobby also loves the fact that it’s a flat display with no curved or waterfall edges, making the phone feel more secure in the hand. But the phone is an absolute fingerprint magnet. Samsung has included some carbon fibre-esque covers in the box which does help to mitigate it.

The buttons are all on one side, with the power button, volume rocker and fingerprint sensor on the rightmost side, or bottom layer if the phone is closed.

One thing most people worry about is the hinge since it’s a foldable display, and Samsung has put in a lot of effort to ensure this works correctly. The mechanism is snappy, there are magnets to ensure it stays in place and it feels really good when you’re opening and closing the phone.

The front display isn’t edge to edge or bezelless at all, but it’s enough for us to see what we want to see. If we want to really get into the phone and start using it, then we can open up the phone and use the main display. The screens are clear and vibrant, a great display by Samsung.

Battery life is at least a solid day with no issues, and users who aren’t constantly on their phone might even be able to get 1.5 days out of this. The cameras on it aren’t the best, but they’re definitely more than capable of taking decent photos in everyday situations.

The phone has been either loved, or criticised with opinions such as the phone is neither here nor there, the size is weird etc. But we think that the Fold represents the next generation that we’re going to see in devices. Foldable displays are not going anywhere, they’re going to remain and they’re going to continue being more widespread, robust and durable.

Something we really enjoyed is that the action of closing the phone had this psychological effect of telling us that we’re done with the phone, thus allowing us to set it aside and not keep using it. It’s very reminiscent of the old clamshell design phones.

The sound on the speakers is fantastic, it’s loud and clear. The only issue however, is that the speakers might be covered by a user’s hands if held in a particular position. With the interior camera bump facing downwards, there’s no problem at all since the speakers are on the top half.

Reverse that however, and you might find that your speakers get covered by your palms since that’s the natural position you’d hold the phone in. It becomes a non-issue if you hold it in portrait mode, and that’s how we found ourselves using it most of the time.

This phone is multitasking at its best. We’ve seen this before in the Note series, and on the Fold, it’s basically multitasking on steroids.

You might be wondering how the crease is like on the Fold and whether it’s really as annoying as you might think. It’s basically like a notch on other phones. After five minutes, you basically stop noticing it and you’ll just end up doing whatever else without being affected by it.

Another plus point is that Samsung has included a pair of their true wireless earbuds with the Fold, which is great, since you’re paying that amount for a premium phone without the 3.5mm headphone jack. If we do want to nitpick, Samsung could have included a pouch to keep the phone even safer from scratches.

There are some things you’ll have to know however. The Fold isn’t the most robust device, since the display inside is covered by a layer of plastic that is very easily scratched. We recommend carrying a microfiber pouch that will keep your phone safe and pristine.

Thankfully, there’s also a concierge service that is there to answer any questions that Fold buyers might have, or to help deal with any issues they might face.

The Fold is basically an enjoyable device that isn’t quite useful for everybody, but if you’re someone who wants a premium phone that will allow you to multitask, you’ll love this phone. It’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, and this truly is the future of smartphones.

More information about the Samsung Galaxy Fold (S$3,088) is available at Samsung’s website.