Review: Samsung Galaxy Fold, the most expensive smart phone in the market

Ashwin Rajagopalan

There are very few products that have captured the imagination of gadget buffs like foldable displays have during the last year. It’s a smartphone one moment and then magically morphs into a large screen with a tablet experience. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold had a baptism by fire of sorts with a few glitches when it first went on sale. Samsung chose to move on, glossed over those bugs in a comeback of sorts. The Galaxy Fold is not just one of the most expensive smartphones you can buy now, it’s also a device that might point to a not so distant future.

Foldable displays could well be the next big thing. From Microsoft to Huawei and a brilliant redux of the Moto Razr, there’s been a slew of announcements. Speed to market has always been a Samsung strength, its why the Galaxy Fold is the first device with a foldable display you can buy right now. Early tech adopters will tell you that path-breaking tech doesn’t come cheap. The satisfaction of flipping the Fold open from its 4.6-inch external display to the gorgeous 7.3-inch display is what these adopters will enjoy the most. You can’t escape the camera cut-out on the screen but the sheer joy of watching HD Content on Netflix or flipping through an E-book on this device is something that no smartphone can match.

You’ll need to bring on those kid gloves when using this phone. It’s not water-resistant and Samsung urges you to be ‘ultra’ careful while using the device. At 263 gm, it’s heavy and I won’t recommend trying to squeeze it into your skinny jeans. It’s not just Content Consumption, the large screen allows you to run three Apps parallelly without any stutter – the 12GB of RAM and 512GB of Internal memory take care of that. It’s also powered by the robust Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Processor. The 4830 mAh battery didn’t outdo the Galaxy Note 10+ in our tests but did surprisingly well for a device with such a large screen.

If you’ve enjoyed using the cams on Samsung’s other flagship devices like the S10 or Note 10 this year, you’ll dig the 6-lens set up on the Galaxy Fold. This one’s a strong all-around performer, whether it’s selfies or videos or lowlight images. Samsung manages the transition from the external screen to the larger screen (on the same app) quite seamlessly. I found myself using the external screen only for quick text replies or calls, for almost everything else it was the large screen.

The Galaxy Fold is not a perfect device. It’s easy to forget that this is a concept device that actually makes a case for purchase at least among early adopters. Samsung has embellished the Fold with some thoughtful touches like wireless Galaxy buds bundled in the box and a 24/7 Concierge that we first saw with Vertu a few years ago. You’re bound to feel you’ve stepped into the future each time you unfold the device. If you’re an attention seeker, you’ll love the stares this device attracts.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold costs Rs1,64,999.