Gizmo Crash: The Samsung Galaxy Fold, all you need to know

Remember those days of Motorola flip phones? These were actually foldable phones back then and I wish we never left them behind especially after the advent of Apple’s iPhone in 2007. The concept of a flip phone was simple, its petit when folded and full-size when you flip it up and it protects it’s important bits when you flip it back.

The trouble is in the smartphone world, no one has been able to figure out how to give us the benefits of a big screen with the portability of a clam-shell until now. Samsung recently took the veil off its Galaxy Fold device and we have a lot to say about our Gizmo crash for today. (Disclaimer: This is not a review)

Will the Samsung Galaxy fold flip the smartphone world inside out?

For the lucky few who will ever get the chance to hold this device, will get to discover that its an engineering marvel of a smartphone showing Samsung’s prowess in R&D. But Samsung is not alone, there is the Huawei Mate X another foldable device lurking round the corner from the Chinese phone giant Huawei. Both have different designs but Samsung’s seems to be more superior at this point and this is because the Galaxy fold is an “inne” (that means when closed, it protects the plastic OLED screen). This prevents its from being exposed to damage outside.

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The screen is one continuous flexible OLED that dominates almost the entire interior surface with the exception of an off-set notch in the upper right corner for the dual interior selfie cameras.

Fold that big flexible panel back over itself, and you will find a much smaller touch screen at the outside cover. I have recently realized that versatility is one of the most important features to me in a phone, and the most potent illustration of the Galaxy fold’s versatility is how Samsung executes it in this smartphone. How? That big 7.6 inch screen on one side and the small a 4.3 inch screen on the outside is basically the same device.

Bezel galore on the small screen

If you are sweating the big bezels on the small screen, I honestly sympathize — its kind of goofy looking, but as someone who used a lot of clamshell phones back in the day, I think this screen misses the point.

This small screen is designed for the quick hit tasks when you only have one hand free. You are not going to spend a lot of time on it from the looks of things. When you have a minute to sit down and unfold, you can take whatever you were doing up-front and spread it out across that main canvas.

In fact, there is so much screen area here than a normal phone, that Samsung says you can run up to eight apps simultaneously. I envision most people run two to three apps at ago more often than not.

The fold’s haves and havenots

It is clear that Samsung has to make some sacrifices so that it could fit everything into the fold’s form factor. This includes; the bezels I mentioned a moment ago, the thickness of the design, the lack of a phone jack or no micro-SD card or water proofing– all standard on recent Samsung flagships. But, there are also noteworthy what Samsung didn’t sacrifice.

There are three main cameras on this phone, the same wide, ultra wide and telephoto array that I loved on the Galaxy 10 plus, thats in addition to those dual selfie shooters inside and a single 10 Megapixel shooter on the cover also for selfies. In total you have over 6 cameras on this phone. There is wireless charging onboard as well as reverse wireless charging to juice up your Galaxy buds that come in the box or your smartwatch. Lets have a look at the full technical spec sheet.

The Detailed Spec sheet

• Colors: Space Silver, Cosmos Black, Martian Green with Gold Hinge, Martian Green with Dark Silver Hinge, Astro Blue with Gold Hinge, Astro Blue with Dark Silver Hinge. *Color availability may vary depending on country or carrier.
• Dimensions:
  Folded: 62.9 x 160.9 x 17.0 mm (Hinge)–15.5 mm (Sagging)
  Unfolded: 117.9 x 160.9 x 7.5 mm (Frame)–6.9 mm (Screen)
• Weight: 263 g
• Main Display: 7.3″ QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED Display (4.2:3), Infinity Flex Display(2152×1536), 362ppi
• Cover Display: 4.6″ HD+ Super AMOLED Display (21:9), 720×1680, 399ppi
• Cover Camera:
  1. 10MP Selfie Camera
     • Pixel size: 1.22μm, FOV: 80˚, F.No (aperture): F2.2
• Front Cameras:
  1. 10MP Selfie Camera
     • Pixel size: 1.22μm, FOV: 80˚, F.No (aperture): F2.2
  2. 8MP RGB Depth Camera
     • Pixel Size: 1.12μm, FOV: 85˚, F.No (aperture):F1.9
     • Comes with Live focus.
• Rear Cameras:
  1. 16MP Ultra Wide Camera
     • Pixel size: 1.0μm FOV: 123˚, F.No (aperture): F2.2
  2. 12MP Wide-angle Camera
     • Super Speed Dual Pixel AF, OIS, Pixel size: 1.4μm, FOV: 77˚, Dual Aperture: F1.5 mode/F2.4 mode
  3. 12MP Telephoto Camera
     • PDAF, OIS, Pixel size: 1.0μm, FOV: 45˚, F.No (aperture): F2.4
• Video Recording:
  1. Resolution:
     • 4K UHD video recording at 60 fps (3840×2160)
     • 1080p FHD video recording at 60 fps (1920×1080)
     • 720p HD video recording at 30 fps (1280×720)
  2. Shooting speed
     • Super steady
     • Super Slow-mo 720p video support at 960 fps
     • Slow motion 1080p video support at 240 fps
     • Hyperlapse 1080p video support
  3. Other
     • VDIS (Video Digital Image Stabilization)
     • Digital zoom up to 10x High CRI LED Flash
• Battery capacity: 4380mAh (typical) dual battery
• Charging:
  • Fast Charging compatible via power cord and wireless
  • Wireless PowerShare
• Network & Connectivity:
  1. Data
     • LTE model: Enhanced 2X2 MIMO, 6CA, LAA, LTE Cat.18
     • Up to 1.2Gbps Download / Up to 150Mbps Upload
  2. Wi-Fi
     • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4/5GHz),VHT80 MU-MIMO,1024QAM
  3. Bluetooth
     • Bluetooth® v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+, USB Type-C, NFC, Location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou)
• Memory: 12GB RAM with 512GB internal storage with support for expandable memory (one eSIM and one Nano SIM)
• Operating System: Android 9 Pie
• Voice Assistants : Bixby and Google Assistant

As you can see from the above spec sheet, there is enough horse-power under the hood to satisfy all users. From phone mode, to tablet mode to also PC mode with Samsung Dex. Am sure all four of you Samsung Dex users will appreciate that.

Why you shouldn’t buy the Galaxy fold now even if you can afford it

The Galaxy Fold also costs a costs a Jackson short of UGX 7.4 m before tax ($ 1,980), which is a staggering amount to money, so lets take a step back and look at the shortcomings you have to live with if smash the piggy bank.

• With a power pack barely bigger than what is in the Galaxy s10 plus and a much larger display battery life is a big concern for me. You probably won’t be able to quickly charge it as quickly as you can thanks to the older quick charge tech.
• The strange aspect ratio of the main screen isn’t great for watching wide screen videos.
• Then there is mechanical reality of the display. Samsung rates it for 200,000 folds which should lasts up to 5 years. But, if you expect this to be the perfectly smooth glass of your current phone screen, think again! It has caused some issues as I will explain later.
• There are some imperfections when it comes to folding anything, it creates a crease (that lining that stays after you fold any material). But, this is something modern engineering can’t yet iron out.
• Most concerning of all, is kind of the broader platform question. When was the last time you saw an Android tablet get rave reviews? They are almost universally regarded as not that great and frankly an Android tablet is what you get when you open the Galaxy fold.
• The current biggest concern is another Galaxy Note 7 debacle, but this is not with battery problems this time round, instead with the screen issues. Early reviewers are reporting broken screens due to debris on the crease days just after receiving the device. This means in Africa where durst is the norm of the day, this phone can’t survive. Samsung says that it is looking into the issue and also warning users not to try to peel off the protective layer on the top of the screen.
• Another thing people are worried about is the plastic screen scratching or picking up nicks easily. Samsung has equipped the fold with a sort of built-in screen protector on the front of the device. Samsung calls it a “polymer layer.” It is not designed to be removed. (Please don’t try it if you get your hands on a Fold.)

I do thing the Galaxy fold is the future of smartphones at least the first example of what I think they will become.