Samsung finally unveils first foldable smartphone

SEOUL – Ten years after the first Galaxy, Samsung didn’t just change the shape of the phone. It has changed the shape of tomorrow by launching its its much talked about Galaxy Fold.

Together with the launch of a number of Galaxy S10 models all built with an AMOLED display, Samsung hasn’t waited Mobile World Congress to make the news with a flexible smartphone.

Dubbed Galaxy Fold, the foldable device features a 7.3-inch diagonal Infinity Flex Display which folds into a compact device with a cover display.

Ten years after the first Galaxy, we didn’t just change the shape of the phone, we changed the shape of tomorrow. #GalaxyFold
Learn more: https://t.co/gYYGF4ZvdJ pic.twitter.com/C8s0Jxdhkz

— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) February 20, 2019

This phone brings together material, engineering and display innovations, developed over eight years following the debut of Samsung’s first flexible display prototype in 2011, claims the company.

For its internal screen, Samsung says it invented a new polymer layer and created a display around 50 percent thinner than the typical smartphone display, assorted to a novel hinging mechanism so the Galaxy Fold opens smoothly and naturally, like a book.

Design

• When closed, it's more like an older Galaxy model with a 4.6in display
• When opened up it showcases a massive 7.3in Infinity Flex Display, which transforms the phone into a tablet
• The device will come in four colours; Cosmos Black, Space Silver, Martian Green and Astro Blue

Display(s)

When closed, a 4.6-inch HD+ (12:9) display will be used for 'phone mode' where users can send text and make calls with one hand while on the go. This will then open up to a 7.3in main display, which is an Infinity Flex Display.

Specs and features

• The Fold has an art 7nm processor with 12GB of RAM, making it potentially one of the most powerful smartphones on the market
• There's also 512GB of onboard memory and for the first time on mobile device support for universal flash storage 3.0
• The device has two batteries and Samsung engineers developed special technologies to combine energy from both batteries into a single power source

Camera

On the camera side, the new phone boasts six lenses, three in the back, two on the inside and one on the cover.

Price

The foldable smartphone, which was unveiled yesterday during the launch of the latest models from its Galaxy series, will be available from 26 April in the US and 3 May in Europe and will cost a whopping $1,980 (£1,517).