Samsung Galaxy Fold: Worth £1900?

 

 

Samsung has been at the forefront of mobile innovation for years and they’ve just taken their biggest leap into the unknown with the Galaxy Fold.

The question on everyone’s lips isn’t ‘will foldable phones ever take off?’. They will. As soon as relatively affordable, lightweight handsets arrive, it’s game over.

The real question: is Samsung’s first-generation foldable worth a purchase? The answer from reviewers so far has been a resounding no.

The main complaints are: it’s super-expensive, it’s bulky and it’s still vulnerable to breakages (despite being shored up since that faulty device debacle earlier in the year). 

However, if you’ve got money to burn and an open mind, it could dramatically improve your day-to-day mobile experience (and there are very few other devices on the market that offer a genuine change from the norm).

For example, you’ll feel triumphant when you flip it out on a packed train for a Homes Under the Hammer marathon. Watching shows on even the largest standard smartphones seems embarrassingly cramped in comparison.

Being able to use multiple apps at once is a gamechanger too. With a normal mobile, it’s de rigueur to delay certain tasks until you can get to a laptop. On the Galaxy Fold you can easily take notes while reading a document or webpage, and that’s a boon to those who like to be productive on the go.

It also feels liberating when you receive a notification and you aren’t forced to swap to another app (unless Big Dave’s blowing up the group chat with Brexit talk again. Then it’s a hindrance). 
 
When it comes to photography, the hi-res 7.3-inch viewfinder is surprisingly helpful. You’ll really get a feel for whether your snap is a hit or a miss with a tablet-sized screen, and because the camera is incredible, it’s a potent combination.  

What’s the verdict? 

In a way, the Galaxy Fold is reminiscent of the earliest iterations of the iPhone. When you try it for the first time, you can’t help but feel a sense of potential and awe – but the reality of the cost and the natural teething problems with a first-generation device means most people will be best suited waiting for a later version.

It’s a brave and ambitious toe-in-the-water for Samsung, and it does a lot of things right. It’s just a shame that you need a Bezos-bothering bank-balance to justify the purchase.

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* Underwriter Assurant General Insurance Limited. Gadget age restrictions, T&Cs & excesses apply. Customer UK 18+. Note: We do not currently offer insurance for the Samsung Galaxy Fold.