Samsung's Galaxy Fold is back, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
Just days before the ambitious device was due to hit shelves in April, the launch was shelved. Questions were raised about the Galaxy Fold's durability after multiple review units failed due to a variety of screen-related issues.
In some cases, the protective layer was accidentally removed from the screen. In others, debris managed to make its way inside the hinge. Some devices failed for no apparent reason. However, Samsung has spent the last few months addressing these issues and the phone will be launching around the world across the coming weeks.
I never got a chance to go hands on with the original Galaxy Fold, but having spent an almost an hour with the "new and improved" foldable, I've come away impressed.
But first, let's recap. The Galaxy Fold is Samsung's first smartphone with a bendable display. The phone's sizeable 7.3-inch screen can close up like a book, which then leaves you with a candy bar form factor with its own external screen. In some ways, the Galaxy Fold doubles as both a smartphone and a tablet.
When the Galaxy Fold is closed, it's far from the most elegant phone. The 4.6-inch display is flanked by an extreme amount bezel, giving off strong mid-2000s feature phone energy. It's a far cry from almost all-display schitck we're seeing with Samsung devices like the Galaxy Note 10+.
While 4.6-inch displays weren't all that uncommon a few years ago, the Galaxy Fold's outer screen feels a little alien. It's not a phone from a few generations back, it's tall and narrow. It's still easy enough to flick through a website, put on a playlist, or take a photo (you get access to the same cameras no matter whether you're using the Fold closed or open), but it becomes a little awkward as soon as anything requires typing.
A small screen means a small keyboard, and I found myself making plenty of typos when trying to text. Swapping to a swipe-based keyboard didn't really make it any easier. This feels like something you'd learn to live with, but there'll be a difficulty curve if you don't want to open up the Fold every time you want to reply to a message.
Unfolding the Fold feels great however. I couldn't stop opening and closing it. It's satisfying. It's delightfully mechanical. It's a little bit magical. It's a phone something a phone shouldn't do and I'm very here for it.
Opened up, the Galaxy Fold is like a tiny tablet. A big phone in a small package. In some ways having a 7.3-inch display you can pocket (even unfolded, although a spokesperson advised me that this is a terrible idea) is almost justification enough for the the Galaxy Fold, but the Fold feels more than just a big phone.
For one, videos look great on the inside display - great enough to avoid carrying a tablet around. The side notch can cut into what you're watching, but it's less distracting than it might look. Secondly, the Galaxy Fold is the first phone I've used where running two apps actually seems useful.
The Galaxy Fold can run up to three apps at once, and if that's not enough, you can have another app or two float on top. Running more than two apps simultaneously did make the screen feel a bit too clutter though, but it's nice to have the option in a pinch.
Opening and closing the Fold is also great on a software level; apps seamlessly transition from the small display to the large display. If you've got an app open on the small screen, it will still be running on the big screen when you unfold the Fold, and vice versa. If you had multiple apps running when you close the Fold, these will all still be there when you unfold it back again. Only the first app you had open will transition back to the small screen.
One small thing I really appreciated is the Galaxy Fold's software keyboard. When the phone is open and you need to write a message, the keyboard splits into two halve. It almost feels like typing on a regular sized phone, and saves you from stretching into the centre of the display.
While I didn't get too much time to play around with the Galaxy Fold's cameras, the setup is almost identical to the Galaxy S10+. You get three rear-facing cameras: a 12MP primary lens, a 12MP 2x zoom lens, and a 16MP wide-angle lens. Based on my time with the Galaxy S10+, the Galaxy Fold will take great photos in most circumstances, but won't be quite as good as devices such as the Huawei P30 Pro and Google Pixel 3a when it comes to lowlight performance.
Notably, the Galaxy Fold doesn't have an earpiece attached to the inside display. If you accept a phone call while the phone is unfolded, it will go straight to speaker. Alternatively you can closed it before answering the phone. Samsung is however bundling Galaxy Buds with the Galaxy Fold, just in case you need a Bluetooth option.
For the most part, the Galaxy Fold feels like a premium device, as you'd hope, given the expected $3,000 price-tag. It just also has a few first-generation product quirks, mostly associated with the bendable display.
The Fold's internal screen is plastic rather than glass, because glass tends to shatter when you try and bend it. This does however mean it's not quite as resistant as what we've become accustomed to on premium smartphones, and may be more prone to scuffs and scratches.
You can also feel and see a slight crease where the display bends. I forgot about this pretty quickly, but it can betray the premium vibe.
As someone who writes about too many phones, the Galaxy Fold is what exactly what I've been craving. Something genuinely new, but not just new for the sake of being new. I'm a little bit in love.
I've still got plenty of questions. How will it perform as a day-to-day smartphone? What is the battery life going to be like? Will the novelty fade? Will opening up the Fold to do anything significant become frustrating over time? How is the plastic screen going to hold up? Is it actually worth $3,000 or so?
While the Galaxy Fold clearly won't be for everyone, I came away from my hands-on wanting more time and brimming with optimism. Maybe this could be the shape of things to come.
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