Earlier this week, we started to test the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
After just two days, the internal display broke completely.
The left side would either flicker or turn off completely, while the right side did the exact same.
We asked Samsung what was going on, and Samsung said that some reviewers
had removed a protective film on top of the display.
But we never did that.
Our phone was left the same way it was when it came out of the box, but it
just stopped working on its own.
So, Samsung took the unit back and we're waiting for a replacement.
But in the meantime, we just wanted to show you what it was like to use
the Galaxy Fold before our review unit broke.
Smartphones have gotten boring.
Screens get sharper and cameras get a little better, but ultimately people
are still holding onto their devices for 3 to 4 years.
To buck this trend, Samsung's launching a new form of product, the Galaxy
Fold. At $1,980, the Galaxy Fold isn't for everyone.
That's what the Galaxy S10 is for.
This is a $2,000 look at what future phones might eventually look like.
And tech enthusiasts are excited about it because it is the first foldable
phone you can actually buy.
And the display is a lot of fun.
There's a tiny little window screen on the front that I don't really like,
but when you open it up, there's a form factor more akin to a tablet,
which is great for watching movies, playing games, reading the news and
even running three apps at the same time side-by-side.
The crease that runs down the middle is definitely visible at times,
though not when the screen is really bright or really dark, and you can
feel it, but it's still really cool to see a taste of the future.
The Galaxy Fold is really spec heavy, too.
It has the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, plenty of storage and really good cameras.
There are six of them.
But it doesn't have everything the future holds.
It's not water resistant or dust resistant, so you don't want to get
anything in the hinge.
The form factor might seem a little silly, especially because it's really
bulky. It's sort of like stacking two phones on top of each other.
But we have to remember that Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note, and at
that point, everybody gawked at the size of its screen.
Now, most of our phones have screens that are larger than the original
Galaxy Note.
So Samsung was really onto something.
Ultimately, the Galaxy Fold is a proof of concept for early adopters who
want the latest technology and to show it off before anybody else has it.
If you aren't in that group of buyers, and you probably aren't, you're
better served by a smartphone and a tablet for when you need a bigger screen.
The Galaxy Fold is a cool idea, an ugly phone, and a taste of what we might see in the future.