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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 - 30 Things You Didn't Know!

The Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 has now officially been unveiled by Samsung. This is by far the Phone that I’m most excited for this year so, without any further ado, here are 30 things you probably didn’t know about it! 

1) New Hinge Mechanism 

There is a brand new Hinge mechanism that now allows the Fold to stay open at pretty much any angle that you want, just like the Z Flip did. This means that you can actually prop it up and take a selfie or a group photo using the Front, or even the Back-Facing Camera Module. There are over 60 individual components in this new Hinge and Samsung said that they’ve tried over 100 different prototypes and approaches to make this possible. 

2) Video Controls 

Something else that you can do with this, is keep it semi-open and have certain video controls on the bottom screen while you’re watching a video on the top screen. This could easily be updated for Games as well so that you get the controls on the bottom and the Game itself on the top Display. 

3) Personalise the Hinge

Speaking of the Hinge, when you order your Galaxy Fold 2, you can now customise it. This isn’t live on 'samsung.com' just yet, but you will be able to change the colour of the Hinge when you order your Fold 2 through their website. 

4) Dust Protection

The technology in the Hinge has been massively updated in the Z Fold2 (Source: Samsung)

The technology in the Hinge has been massively updated in the Z Fold2 (Source: Samsung)

Something that I was hoping to be improved with the Fold 2, and it finally has, is Dust Protection. Samsung is calling this the most advanced Hinge design ever, even more so than the mechanism that the Z Flip introduced, with the whole structure of the Phone reinforced to make the Fold more durable to drops and dust.

In fact, they even showed ‘JerryRigEverything’s’ dust and dirt test for the original Fold to point out that they’re now using smaller sweepers in the Hinge, similar to the ones used by Dyson Vacuum Cleaners to keep the debris out. 

5) Water Resistance 

Water Resistance is here too, to some extent at least. Even-though Samsung has not confirmed this directly, Max Weinbach says that the Fold 2 has an Anti-Erosion Waterproof Coating on the main internal components of the Motherboard. It’s not waterproof per se, but it will help survive a quick drop in water or possibly even withstand rain, if you get caught in it.

6) No Wireless Earbuds

Unfortunately, if you were a fan of the free Galaxy Buds that came in the box of the Fold 1, Samsung would not be including any free Headphones inside the box of the Fold 2. Personally, I was hoping of some free Galaxy Buds Live this time, but it seems like this won’t be the case. 

7) Free Galaxy Buds Live 

Or is it? Speaking of the Buds Live, if you pre-order a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, you do get a pair of Galaxy Buds Live for free. Samsung hasn’t said if they will be doing the same thing for the Fold 2, but I would expect them to do so.

If you do get your Fold after the pre-order window has closed, you would not be able to claim the free Galaxy Buds Live anymore. 

8) Premium Box

However, the box that the Fold 2 comes in is still as premium as before. It’s a gigantic box, which makes me think that Samsung has bundled a few things inside, possibly a free case again. The box itself opens in a unique way so the unboxing experience itself is indeed very premium.

9) Thinner 

Now, one of my main complaints with the Fold 1 was that it was quite thick, especially when closed down. Luckily, Samsung has made some massive improvements here.

First, the entire device is thinner when unfolded. It was still pretty thin before at just 6.9mm, but now it is just 6mm when unfolded.

When folded or closed down, Samsung has managed to make the Hinge close flatter, so the gap that was previously quite big is now noticeably smaller, making the device thinner when closed due to both of these improvements. 

10) Heavier 

Unfortunately, there is no way of making so many improvements to a device without increasing its weight. The Fold 2 is now heavier at 279g, compared to the 263g of the Fold 1. 

11) Camera System

This is very similar to what we saw on the S20’s, but it’s hard to complain at that.

This is very similar to what we saw on the S20’s, but it’s hard to complain at that.

Speaking of improvements, I’m a bit disappointed when it comes to the Camera Module. Rather than this being the Note 20 Ultra’s Camera System, it is actually the same Camera Module as on the Galaxy S20, for the most part. We have a Main 12MP, f/1.8 Aperture Module, which is the same exact one as on the S20’s, with larger Pixels and a larger Sensor overall. I’m very happy with this, as that was an incredible Camera.

The second Module is a 12MP, f/2.2 Aperture, Ultra-Wide Angle Module, the same as on the S20’s. However, the Telephoto Module is not quite as good. 

12) No 64MP

On the S20’s, we have a 64MP Telephoto Module with which you can have 30x Digital Zoom. Unfortunately, the Fold 2 only has a 12MP Module, which gives you a 2x Optical Zoom and 10x Digital. 

13) No 8K

Not only that, but because there is no 64MP Module, there is also no 8K Video Recording on the Fold 2. This is something that we’ve had on all the S20’s as well as both Galaxy Note 20’s. 

14) Why No S-Pen?

Now, one of the early rumors was that the Fold 2 will include an S-Pen, this was one of my main requests as well. I’m not a massive user of the S-Pen myself, but I do have to say that having it on a device as big as the Fold 2 would make a lot of sense.  Unfortunately, there is no S-Pen at all.

Samsung did actually make an official statement on this, saying that they engineered the Fold 2 to have its own special qualities that are suited for Foldables, which makes me think that they couldn’t do it as of yet. My initial guess was that they couldn’t do it, as they would need to make the tip of the S-Pen extremely soft in order for it not to damage the Display. But, if it is really soft, it would flex when you press harder and then the plastic body of the S-Pen itself could touch the Display, which would easily damage it. 

It could also be a case where Samsung wanted to make a thinner Fold 2 and they just couldn’t have done that if they had the S-Pen inside.

15) 120Hz 

Now, one of the big improvements that the Fold 2 gets is a 120Hz Refresh Rate Display, which is absolutely nuts on such a massive Display. 

This jump in Refresh Rate is definitely something you’ll notice.

This jump in Refresh Rate is definitely something you’ll notice.

We don’t yet know if the Display will be able to run at Native Resolution whilst also running at 120Hz.The S20’s can only run at 120Hz if you turn down the Resolution to 1080p and the exact same applies to the Note 20’s, including the Note 20 Ultra. Now, the Fold 2 has a much larger Display, it’s pretty much a compact Tablet really, so we definitely do need this Display to run in Native Resolution as even the text on the Galaxy S20 Ultra was a bit blurry when running the Display in 1080p. We don’t know if Samsung will allow us to do this, but the good news is that the Resolution on the Fold 1 was fixed, you couldn’t change it. So, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Native Resolution at 120Hz. 

16) One CPU Model

Now, what gives me hope in terms of this, is the fact that the Fold 2 would only come with one CPU model, as opposed to the Galaxy S20’s or even the Note 20’s. These come with either an Exynos 990 Processor, if you buy the International Version of those Phones, or the Snapdragon 865.

The Fold 2, same as the US Version of the Note 20 Ultra, will feature the Snapdragon 865+ Processor. Since there’s no Exynos at all, and the Snapdragon is around 20-30% more powerful, we could see 120Hz at Native Resolution. 

17) Inner 60Hz 

The Inner Display would still be a 60Hz Panel. 

18) Outer Display Improvements

However, this Display has received some massive improvements, with the biggest one being in terms of the size.The Fold 1 had a tiny 4.6” Display with gigantic Bezels that I was almost never using, but this time we have a 6.23” Bezel-less Display with just a single Punch-Hole Camera Cutout, making this Panel fully usable now. 

19) Inner Display Improvements

The Inner Display is now bigger, more fluid and has that Notch is now gone (Source: Samsung).

The Inner Display is now bigger, more fluid and has that Notch is now gone (Source: Samsung).

But, there are also big changes are on the Inner Display. 

Aside from the 120Hz Refresh Rate, this Display is also getting larger from 7.3”, to 7.6”. Not only that, but that massive Notch has been replaced by a single Camera Cutout, just like on the front, and Samsung has also made this Display way more durable. Just like on the Z Flip, Samsung is using UTG (Ultra-Thin Glass). 

So, the Display assembly is now: a Plastic Layer, then the UTG underneath that, then the Display Panel itself and then the UMC (Under-Metal Cushion). All of these make the Display much more durable than ever before. 

20) LTPO

Speaking of the Display, the Inner Display is also an LTPO Panel, meaning that it can dynamically adjust the Refresh Rate based on the content that you’re watching. It can go from 120Hz, all the way down to 60Hz, 30Hz or even 1Hz, in order to improve Battery Life.

21) Battery 

In terms of the Battery, this is now a larger 4500mAh Battery, compared to the 4235mAh that we had on the original Fold. 

22) Faster Charging

Speaking of the Battery, Fast Charging has also been improved with support of up to 25W Charging, compared to the 15W we had on the Fold One. 

23) Storage Dropped

The amount of Storage that you get has been dropped to 256GB from 512GB, which I think that’s fine. But there are rumors that this wasn’t made to decrease the price, but rather to be able to keep the price the same as before. The price itself is not known yet.

24) SD Support

Speaking of Storage, there is no SD Card Support on the Fold 2 and since 256GB is apparently the only capacity that Samsung will be offering, you will be stuck with that amount of Storage. 

25) Fingerprint Reader 

No In-Display Fingerprint Reader, but we do have the next best thing (Source: Samsung).

No In-Display Fingerprint Reader, but we do have the next best thing (Source: Samsung).

Now, in case you’re wondering if we’re getting an In-Display Fingerprint Reader this time, the answer is no. This is still a Side-Mounted Fingerprint Reader. But, Samsung have indeed mounted it onto the Power Button, as opposed to having a Power Button and then a separate Fingerprint Reader Sensor next to it, like they did with the Fold 1. 

26) Frosted Back

Source: Samsung

Source: Samsung

The back of the Fold does indeed have a Frosted Glass texture, but we don’t yet know if this is just on the Gold Model or the Black one as well. The press images seem to show the Black Model as being Frosted as well, while Samsung’s own 3D Viewer on their own website seems to show this as Regular Glass. 

27) New Leather Case

Apparently, there is a new Leather Case that is now made out of a single piece, rather than two pieces, and I believe it stretches over the Hinge rather than leaving it open, like we had with the Fold 1’s Leather Case. 

28) Thom Browne Edition

As with the Z Flip, the Z Fold2 is part of a Limited Edition ‘Thom Browne’ set (Credit: Samsung).

As with the Z Flip, the Z Fold2 is part of a Limited Edition ‘Thom Browne’ set (Credit: Samsung).

Just like the Z Flip, Samsung will be selling a more exclusive Thom Browne version of it, which will be more expensive. But, you also get a Thom Browne Edition Galaxy Watch 3, as well as Thom Browne Galaxy Buds Live, included in that gigantic box. 

29) 2011

Samsung has stated that work on their first Fold started in 2011, which is the same year that Samsung demoed their Flexible Displays at CES 2011 for the very first time. 

30) 5G and Foldables 

Moving forward, Samsung has confirmed that their main focus would be on Foldable devices, as well as 5G, with more more Foldables being released in the future. 

31) Updates for Three Generations

Finally, interestingly enough, Samsung has also confirmed that you would be getting software updates for the next three Generations moving forward, which is an incredible move.

Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 - The iPhone 12 Killer?

As some of you might know, the Samsung Galaxy Fold has been a true game-changer for me. It has finally re-ignited my excitement for new Smartphones because, ever since the first iPhone, Smartphones haven’t really changed that much, aside from just getting larger Displays, thinner Bezels and better Cameras. The Fold finally delivered something new. An innovative experience unlike anything I’ve seen since 2008, when I got my iPhone 3G.

You can watch our full Review video on the Galaxy Fold, where I talk about how much this has changed the way I use a Smartphone. The Galaxy Fold is now my main Smartphone that I use, so this why I am so excited for the Fold 2. The improvements that we’re getting are gigantic in every single way, so without any further ado, here are all the latest Leaks & Rumors and everything we know so far, in terms of the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2!

Design

Design wise, Max Weinbach reports that Samsung could release three models of the Galaxy Fold 2. This is just a rumour and not 100% confirmed. According to Max, one Fold 2 model would have an Ultra Thin Glass Display, so just like the Galaxy Z Flip, while the other two would be lower-end and would have the same plastic Display as the original Fold.   Apparently, the code-names for these are ‘Winner2’ and ‘Champ’.

Now, just to make it clear, the Z Flip did not have a regular Glass Display, ‘JerryRigEverything’ showed us that the Z Flip did have a plastic layer on top of that ultra-thin Glass Display and that plastic layer, if it was damaged, would render the Display useless. At the end of the day, they both break as easily so it doesn’t really matter if one’s plastic or if one has glass underneath that plastic layer. 

Max also says that Samsung could release a Fold 2e, priced at just $1100. That would be insane as this would be a Foldable Tablet, which is the way Foldables should be. There’s no point in folding a regular Smartphone other than to look cool. But anyway, having a Foldable Tablet, for just $1100, when the Fold 1 was $2000, would finally bring Foldable Smartphones to the every-day consumer, that’s so awesome! According to Max, Samsung will be making some tradeoffs, in terms of the number of Cameras and the Outer Display, which will either be smaller or even removed entirely.

Industry insider Ross Young tells a similar story. Samsung will be selling a Galaxy Fold at just $1100 but rather than this being the Fold Lite that Max talked about, this would be a Fold Special Edition, which will literally just be a Galaxy Fold 1 at a lower price. This is so Samsung could get rid of the remaining inventory. Now, both Ross and Max are very reliable sources, so I believe that they’re both correct and in that case, we would essentially get two models of the Fold 2, with that Fold 1 Special Edition as well.

The design of the original Fold was a breath of fresh air, but can it be better?

The design of the original Fold was a breath of fresh air, but can it be better?

Max Weinbach has also now reported a few more details about the Fold Lite recently, saying that it would be 4G only and that it would come with 256GB of Storage, rather than 512GB. He also said that it would come in two colours, Mirror Black and Mirror Purple. The Display would be just plastic, like previously reported, and Max also says that it would be equipped with a mix of 2018, 2019 and 2020 parts. It would also have a smaller Outer Display, similar to the one on the Z Flip. It will be available internationally and come with the Snapdragon 865 Processor, an Aluminium & Glass Enclosure (rather than Stainless Steel and Glass) and the price is again said to be $1100. So, we have both the Fold Lite and the Fold 1 Special Edition at $1100, which is a bit odd. I don’t really see Samsung selling both at the same price, but we’ll see. What’s definitely looking to be certain for now is that Samsung will indeed have at least one affordable Galaxy Fold 2 model at around that $1100 price point.

Now, what about the actual high-end Galaxy Fold 2? The one that likely has that ‘Champ’ codename. Well, design wise, my main complaint with the Fold 1 was that it was extremely think when closed. At 17.1mm at its thickest point, the Fold was almost as thick as a Nokia 3310, when closed.

However, if you take a look at the Hinge, you can probably tell that the Fold doesn’t actually close flat. Instead, the Hinge itself has this wedge shape, meaning that if the Fold were to close perfectly flat, it would be much thinner, at 15.7mm thick. The Galaxy Z Flip for example, which was released after the Galaxy Fold, does indeed use a brand new Hinge design, which not only closes almost flat but it also has these fibres inside that help keep dust out. Overall, they would add to the durability of the Fold significantly.

Now, my second complaint with the Fold 1 was that the Outer Display being way too small. The Bezels on that Outer Display are also just way too big. Luckily, this will also be improved with the Fold 2. According to Max Weinbach, the Fold 2 will have an Infinity V Display on the front, meaning that the Bezels would now be removed pretty much entirely. We’ll have a Full-Screen Display, which would only be interrupted by that single ‘V’-shaped Front-Facing Camera Cutout. That would be such a big change in just a year. The Display is also reported to be getting wider. Ross Young reports that the Main Display would now be a 7.59” Panel, up from the 7.3” Panel that we had before. So, the whole device is getting a bit wider.

In terms of the colours, Max Weinbach claims that it would come in Blue, Silver, Gold, Pink as well as Black, with both Ceramic and Stainless Steel finishes.  So, Samsung is definitely planning on making the Fold 2 a bit more fun and even more premium at the same time. 

Display

Right, let’s get into some juicy Display specifics.

We’ll get that 7.59” Panel on the inside with a 2213x1689 Resolution, again according to Ross Young, a well known Display Analyst. The PPI would be 372 and the Refresh Rate would be 120Hz, which is amazing.

120Hz on a Foldable Smartphone would be insane and not something that we would have expected on the second generation.

120Hz on a Foldable Smartphone would be insane and not something that we would have expected on the second generation.

Not only that, but it will also be an LTPO Panel, which will consume significantly less power and also allow for a Variable Refresh Rate, which the S20 line didn’t get. Interestingly enough, Ross Young also claims that the iPhone 12 won’t have LTPO, meaning that Samsung will have a big advantage with the Fold 2 and the Note 20, over the upcoming iPhones. We would be able to have any refresh rate from 1 - 120Hz, whenever we want. 

Aside from the larger Display, the higher Resolution, the 120Hz adjustable Refresh Rate and the UTG Panel, another big Display improvement is that we no longer get that massive Notch on the top right. Instead, we would have a single Camera Cutout, just like on the Galaxy S20’s. We don’t really know if this would be centred or to the side, but if I were to guess, I would say that it would very likely be to the side. As you know, the Fold would fold in the middle, so you cannot really have a Camera there. This is why we’ve modelled ours with the Punch-Hole Camera to the right.

When it comes to the Outer Display’s specifics, according to Ross Young, this would be a 6.23” Display. A massive size increase from the 4.6” Panel that we had on the original Fold. The Resolution is said to be 2267x819, another massive upgrade. However, the Refresh Rate will be 60Hz. 

So, some pretty big improvements when it comes to the Display and honestly, I wasn’t even asking for 120Hz, just a larger Outer Display. It’s pretty amazing to see that Samsung will be bringing such a massive upgrade to the Fold 2.

Camera

Moving on to the Camera, the Fold 1 had some pretty good Cameras. It had six Cameras: one front Camera on the Outer Display, two front Cameras on the Inner Display and then three more on the back. Now, these Cameras were exactly the same ones as we got in the Galaxy S10+, which were outstanding, but now we’re in 2020 and those Cameras are indeed a bit outdated.

So, as expected, the Fold 2  will come with the same Cameras that the S20 came with. Luckily, it won’t come with the S20 Ultra’s Cameras but instead, the S20+’s Cameras.  The S20 Ultra did have a ton of issues with the Camera, ranging from very poor Low-Light performance, especially when recording video, to focusing issues including blown out highlights and crushed shadows. I covered all of that in the full S20 Ultra Review, so make sure you check it out in case you missed it. But the Fold 2, just like the S20+, won’t have any of those issues.This means that, on the front, we would have the same 10MP, f/2.2 Module that is capable of recording in 4K60, just like on the S20 & S20+.

Don’t worry, we won’t be getting the S20 Ultra’s Camera system.

Don’t worry, we won’t be getting the S20 Ultra’s Camera system.

The same goes for the Inner Display. It’ll just be one Camera and no Notch with multiple Modules or anything like that. Finally, on the back, the Main Module would be a 12MP, f/1.8 Module with Dual Pixel Autofocus. Then, according to Ross, it seems like we’ll have a 16MP Ultra-Wide Module, as opposed to the 12MP Ultra-Wide Module on the S20’s. That Ultra-Wide Module is usually pretty bad in Low-Light, so a lower Megapixel count is actually preferred here.

Finally, the third Module would be the 64MP Telephoto Module with an f/2.0 Aperture. This is the same one that the S20 and S20+ featured, which will allow you to zoom-in digitally, up to 30x. Not only that, but you can use this Module to take some very high Resolution 64MP photos as well as record 8K video. 

So, from the looks of it, aside from that Ultra-Wide Angle Module, which looks to be identical to the one from the S10 and Galaxy Fold 1, we are getting the exact same Camera system as on the S20 & S20+.

Performance

In terms of the specs, the Fold 2 is said to come with the Snapdragon 865. Now, we don’t know if Samsung will also release another variant, with the Exynos 990 Processor, but I really hope they don’t.

The Snapdragon 865 variants of the S20’s have all significantly outperformed the Exynos 990 variants in both performance as well as Battery Life. Even when it came to heat management, the Snapdragon models were always on top. The Fold 1 only came with a Snapdragon Processor, so I really do hope that this is the case again with the Fold 2. With the RAM, we don’t have a confirmation on this just yet, but it’s likely going to be the same 12GB that we had on the Fold 1, possibly even with 16GB on the high-end model. Storage is expected to remain the same at 512GB, but the Fold Lite is said to come in 256GB as well.

Special Features

Moving on to the special features, there are a few things that I would’ve loved to see in the Fold 1, such as Water Resistance, Dust Resistance and an S-Pen. Samsung is actually bringing one of those to the Fold 2 and that is…the S-Pen!

The original Fold had very few short-comings but the ones it had, made it quite fragile.

The original Fold had very few short-comings but the ones it had, made it quite fragile.

According to Max Weinbach, the Fold 2 will actually come with an S-Pen, a new form of S-Pen that is. This makes me think that Samsung has come up with a softer S-Pen that won’t damage that thin plastic foil on the screen that’s required for the Fold 2 to work. This could be another reason why the Fold 2 is getting larger, to make room. This was also reported by Ross Young, so S-Pen support is looking very likely now.

Aside from this, unfortunately, we wouldn’t be getting any other massive changes. In fact, we might even see some accessories removed from the box, such as the USB C to USB C adapter and possibly even the GalaxyBuds. If not on the high-end model, definitely on the Lite. There’s still no Water Resistance, still no dust protection and still no microSD card. But, the Ceramic Frame should now make the Fold 2 look and feel even more premium than before.

Battery

In terms of the Battery, the Fold 1 came with a fairly small 4380mAh Battery, considering that it had a massive 7.3” Display on the inside. But, thanks to that Snapdragon, and not Exynos, Processor, the Fold actually lasted for pretty much an entire day of use, for me. This is pretty much on par with my iPhone 11 Pro Max so I don’t really have anything to complain about, in terms of that.

The Battery will be getting larger with the Fold 2. However, we don’t yet know the exact specifics. Considering that we’re also getting an S-Pen inside, I would be surprised if the Battery ends up being any bigger than 4800mAh.

Fast Charging will be improved from 15W to 25W, just like on the S20’s. It could even be 45W like the S20 Ultra, however the Charger that you’ll get inside the box would likely still be a 25W Charger. Wireless Charging is still there at 15W and Reverse Wireless Charging will still be at 9W, just like on the S20’s. 

Release Date

So, what about the release date? When is the Fold 2 coming out?

Well, according to Ross Young, the Fold 2 will be announced alongside the Galaxy Note 20 in August, which would make a lot of sense since the Fold 2 will also have an S-Pen, just like the Note line. In terms of when it would ship, this is set to be in September 2020. This way it would also compete with the new iPhone 12’s.

Price 

And finally, you’re all probably wondering, how much will the Fold 2 cost? The Fold 1 was already an extremely expensive device, at $1980.

Well, according to Ross Young, the price will be between $1780 and $1980, making it possibly $200 cheaper than the original Fold. That’s pretty nuts. We’re getting a larger Outer Display, thinner Bezels, a larger Inner Display, no Notch, a 120Hz Refresh Rate, improved Cameras, a faster Processor, an S-Pen and it’s cheaper? We love seeing that.

Also, we should not forget about the other two Folds. The Fold Lite and the Fold 1 at a new, lower price. The Fold Lite looks likely that it will be at that $1100 price-point. So, there you go, the era of Foldables is about to hit on a pretty big scale.

Samsung Galaxy Fold (2020) - Long Term In-Depth Review

Ever since the original iPhone came out in 2007, completely changing the Cell-Phone industry, Smartphones haven’t really changed that much. Sure, we did get OLED Displays, Dual, Triple, Quad and even Penta Camera Modules, but the idea of a Smartphone has remained the same. It’s essentially this block of glass that we carry with us all the time, which helps us communicate with each other and accomplish our daily tasks on the go. 

But, that block has remained just a block since 2007. Displays started getting larger and Bezels started becoming thinner to the point where we now have Smartphones that are just a massive Displays, and nothing else. However, we’ve now reached a point where there’s only so much we can do with that Form-Factor. 

You might have noticed that since 2017, when Apple and Samsung added a Full-Screen Display to their Smartphones, the design has remained almost unchanged. So, when I started hearing all the rumors about Foldable Smartphones, I got very excited because we were finally going to get something new. I am very glad to say that I’ve been using a Samsung Galaxy Fold for more than a month now as my Daily Driver and this has completely changed my view on Smartphones. I honestly would not be able to go back to a standard one, after using the Fold. So, here is my Full In-Depth Review of the Samsung Galaxy Fold! 

First of all, you’re all probably wondering, why are you reviewing the Galaxy Fold now? This Smartphone was originally teased in November 2018, fully unveiled in February 2019 and was released in September 2019. Well, it’s simple.. I finally got my hands on one.

Ironically, we were actually one of the first channels to talk about the Galaxy Fold. We started making videos on this back in 2017, three years ago. Samsung has been working on Foldable Display technology for the past nine (or more) years now. They showed us their first Foldable Display prototypes back at CES 2011. They then showed us a now famous TV ad where someone was folding a Tablet into a smaller Phone and then unfolding it back into a Tablet, back in 2014. 

When I heard about the leaks & rumors that Samsung was finally working on a Foldable Smartphone that they would sell, I was extremely exited for this future. That’s why we made so many ‘Leaks & Rumors’ episodes on this, just because I was so hyped for something new.

The general design of most Smartphones has been pretty much the same for the past few years.

The general design of most Smartphones has been pretty much the same for the past few years.

Then, right after the February 2019 unveil, they started sending over a few Review units to some of the biggest tech channels in the world. We didn’t get one, but luckily this was the first generation that had a ton of issues and was literally breaking after just a few hours of use. Samsung postponed the release, redesigned the Hinge, even the Display to some extent, and then fully released it seven months later, in September 2019.

That’s when Samsung started sending loads of Review units to a ton of larger, and smaller, Reviewers. Unfortunately, we weren’t on that list and even though I tried my very best to get ahold of one, Samsung UK just didn’t want to send us one. It was also almost impossible to buy as it wasn’t in stock pretty much every single time I checked, so we just skipped making videos on it because we couldn’t get ahold of one.

I did go to IFA 2019, in September, and I did go to Samsung’s booth, but we got kicked out because the whole place was closing down. I was about 10cm away from the Fold and I just couldn’t touch it.  Then, in October 2019, about a month after the Fold came out, I attended the OnePlus 7T launch event, in London. Emkwan, a great guy who also runs the Em Kwan Reviews tech channel, had a Galaxy Fold. He let me use that for a good 15 minutes and I was impressed. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, but it felt like a prototype device.

Fast forward a few months and when Samsung finally sent over the Galaxy S20 Ultra Review unit, they also sent over a Samsung Galaxy Fold for me to check out. While the S20 Ultra ended up being the most disappointing Smartphone I’ve ever used, the Galaxy Fold ended up being the most outstanding Smartphone I’ve ever used. I used it as my daily driver for two weeks, after which Samsung asked for it back. So, I went and bought my own, just because I loved it so much. The Fold has now replaced my iPhone 11 Pro Max as my daily driver and I have loads to say about it.

Design

With the Design, the Galaxy Fold is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. On the outside, when the Fold is closed, you have this very weird looking Phone that reminds me of the old Nokia 7280, if you guys remember that? That very odd phone that was extremely tall and had this very small and narrow Display. The Fold, when closed, is sort of like that. It has an extremely small 4.6” Display, with a very tall 21:9 Aspect Ratio some insanely massive Bezels, they’re even putting the Bezels of the very first iPhone to shame. It’s crazy thick as well, at 17.1mm at the thickest point and 15.7mm at the thinnest, the Galaxy Fold is actually very comparable to a Nokia 3310, which had a thickness of 22mm. 

I really wish that Samsung would redesign the Hinge so that it would close perfectly flat. This way, the Smartphone would be 1.4mm thinner. Samsung has improved the Hinge heavily with the Z Flip, which closes almost entirely flat. I’m confident that when the Fold 2 launches, it will also have a design similar to that. 

Is it a Smartphone? Is it a Tablet? Well, it’s both (sort of).

Is it a Smartphone? Is it a Tablet? Well, it’s both (sort of).

Once you unfold it, that’s where the magic happens as you’re greeted with a massive 7.3” Display with a 4.2:3 Aspect Ratio, which is absolutely gorgeous to look at. The Fold now becomes much thinner at just 6.9mm, making it considerably thinner than even the S20 Ultra, for example. So, while the Fold does indeed look very outdated from the Front, when compared to other Smartphones, once you open it, that’s when it truly shows its value. Having what is essentially the equivalent of an iPad Mini right in your pocket, is just unbelievable. 

Now, because of how small the Outer Display is and how massive the Bezels are, you can indeed use the Fold closed with one hand, which is perfect for when you’re outdoors and in a hurry. However, I found that unless I really had to, I was using the Fold purely in Tablet Mode. I was really only using the outer Display when I was out shopping and I had my shopping bag in my other hand. But other than that, this is a Foldable Tablet and not a Foldable Phone.

On the bottom, we have the Speaker, a Microphone and the USB C Charging Port. On the right, we have the Fingerprint Sensor, which strangely enough is actually not built into the Display or even the Power Button, like on many other Smartphones. It is instead a separate Sensor. We then have the Power Button as well as the Volume Buttons. On the top, we have another Microphone and the second Speaker. Finally, on the left, we have the SIM Slot, which only supports a Single Nano-Sim.

In terms of how the Fold fits in my pocket, it does feel gigantic. It’s almost like carrying a TV Remote all of the time, just one that’s a bit thinner than usual. It’s also very heavy, at 263g, the Fold is one of the heaviest “Smartphones” that you can carry in your pocket in 2020. The Huawei Mate XS is a bit heavier though, at 300g. I personally don’t have a problem with how thick and heavy it is in my pocket, mostly because of how much this Smartphone has to offer. For now, I’m ok with that tradeoff.

But something that I do want to mention here is that accessories are pretty hard to find. While D-Brand do make a few Skins and Spigen do make some Cases, other than that, you’re pretty much out of luck. If you’re looking for a car mount when open, the Fold is just too big for a regular Smartphone mount, so you’ll need to buy a Tablet mount. When it is closed, the Fold is just too narrow. It will definitely take some time until accessory makers will start making accessories for Foldable Smartphones, so until then, choices are pretty limited. 

Display

Moving on to the Display, we have a 4.6” AMOLED, 21:9 Aspect Ratio, 720x1680 Resolution Display with a PPI of 399 on the outside. On the inside, there is a 7.3” AMOLED, 4.2:3 Aspect Ratio, 2152x1536 Resolution Display with a PPI of 362. Some of you might be wondering, why hasn’t Samsung made the Fold so that it folds on the outside? This way, you would’ve been able to use half of that massive Inner Display, as the outer Display. Huawei has done it on the Mate X, so why hasn’t Samsung done the same?

Well, you see, glass doesn’t fold. In order for the Inner Display to fold, Samsung would have had to use a plastic Display. Even on the new Galaxy Z Flip, where Samsung claims that they’re using glass, JerryRigEverything showed that it’s still just plastic in the end. Plastic is also far more susceptible to scratches and damage, than glass. This is why we had those big warning signs when we unboxed the Phone and is why Samsung chose to have that very sensitive plastic Display on the inside. If they had put it on the outside, any keys, coins or anything sharp in your pocket, could’ve permanently damaged the Display. This way, since it folds on the inside, it is always protected. The Display on the outside is standard Gorilla Glass, similar to what you would find on regular Smartphones.

You can set preferences for the App Switch on an App-by-App basis.

You can set preferences for the App Switch on an App-by-App basis.

So, how does the App Switch work? By default, if you have an App open on the Outer Display and you open up the Fold, that App will continue on the Inner Display. When you close the Inner Display, just like on those old Clamshell Smartphones, it would shut that Display off. If you go into the Settings, you can indeed enable continuity on an app-by-app basis so that when you close the Inner Display, the app continues on the Outer Display too. YouTube, for example, works flawlessly and many others do as well. You can have a video playing on the Inner Display, close it, and it will continue playing back on the Outer Display right from where it left off.

I’m using a tool called ‘GoodLock’. Harry, our Video Creative & 3D Concept Designer, who also has a Fold himself, recommended that App to me. With GoodLock you can force all Apps to continue to the outer Display, which is what I’ve done and it works really well.

Interestingly enough, Samsung’s Launcher is considering each Display as a separate device, in a way. They both have their own specific Home-Screens so even when you change the Wallpaper, you have to do it for the Home-Screen and the Lock-Screen of each Display. So in that case, you have four Wallpapers that you can assign. However, if you use a third party Launcher, both Displays will match, in terms of App layout.

Also, pro tip, I highly recommend adjusting the text size to ‘Small’. This way, not only will the DPI Scaling be higher, but some Apps (such as Chrome) would recognise the Fold as a Tablet, rather than a Smartphone. You would get a Tablet UI with Browser Tabs and more.

Other than that, both Displays are a standard 60Hz Panel, so no high Refresh Rate here. However, both Displays have excellent Colour Reproduction. The Brightness is good too, but I do wish that the Inner Display could go brighter, to match the Brightness of the S20 line for example. We measured the peak Brightness on a Full-Screen White Window, using the ‘Xrite i1Display Plus’ Professional Display Calibrator.

Now, since this is a folding device, there is a crease in the middle. Personally, that never really bothered me. I do feel that it’s there and I do see it at certain angles but it hasn’t really been an issue for me. It’s been like the Notch on the iPhone or the Camera Cutout, where you get used to it very quickly.

Speaking of Notches, for those of you who thought that the iPhone or the Pixel 3 XL had the biggest Notch out there, think again because the Galaxy Fold has one humongous Notch on the inside. This holds the Dual Front-Facing Camera as well as the Light Sensor, it’s pretty massive. I did forget about this after using it, it just took me way longer to forget that this massive Notch was there, compared to the crease.

Camera

When it comes to the Camera. The Galaxy Fold doesn’t have a Single Camera, but instead it comes with six Cameras, which sounds crazy. On the front, when the Fold is closed, we have a 10MP Selfie Camera, which has an f/2.2 Aperture and 1.22μm Pixels. This is literally the exact same Front-Facing Camera Sensor as on the regular Galaxy S10, just with a smaller f/2.2 Aperture, rather than f/1.9.

When we open up the Fold, on the inside, we have Two more Selfie Cameras. The one on the left is the same Camera as on the outside. On the right we have an 8MP RGB Depth Camera, with 1.12μm Pixels and an f/1.9 Aperture. Essentially, on the Inside Display, we get the same Front Camera System as on the Galaxy S10+ from last year, with that Depth Sensor. 

Despite being pretty similar to the S10, the Cameras on the Fold hold up very nicely. They’re certainly better than the S20 Ultra’s.

Despite being pretty similar to the S10, the Cameras on the Fold hold up very nicely. They’re certainly better than the S20 Ultra’s.

So, that’s three Cameras so far. On the back, we get three more, which are the exact same Camera Systems as on the Galaxy S10 line, from last year. That means that we’re getting a 12MP Main Camera with that Variable f/1.5-f/2.4 Aperture and 1.4μm Pixels. We then get a 12MP Telephoto (Zoom) Module, with an f/2.4 Aperture and 1μm Pixels and finally, we’re also getting a 16MP Ultra Wide Angle Module with an f/2.2 Aperture and 1μm Pixels. While this might seem quite disappointing, when you compare it to the 108MP Sensor of the S20 Ultra, or the 100X Space Zoom of the Ultra, the results actually point to the contrary. I’m not going to cover the Ultra’s Camera as I’ve already done that in the S20 Ultra Review. But ironically, the Fold, with last year’s Cameras, is actually performing better than the Ultra does.

Night shots are better. Night video is better. HDR Processing doesn’t have any of the issues, such as the crushed blacks and blown out Highlights that the Ultra has. So overall, this is a very good Camera. The regular S20 does indeed have better Cameras than this with, not just 8K video recording, but also 4K 60 on the Front, where the Fold is limited to 4K 30. But, most people don’t care about those and for how good this Camera is, it will easily satisfy all of your needs.

Also, another pro–tip, on the Fold you can easily install the Google Camera APK and get those awesome Pixel style photos, just like on a Pixel 4. Unfortunately, since this isn’t an official App that you can install, but rather a tweak, it would only work on the small Outer Display. 

Performance

When it comes to the performance, unlike the regular Galaxy line, which comes with either a Snapdragon or an Exynos Processor based on the region that you buy it from, the Fold only comes with a Snapdragon Processor. This is pretty awesome. There have been many issues with the Exynos versions of Samsung Smartphones ranging from Battery Life issues, to performance issues and even Camera issues. I talk about those comprehensively in my S20 Ultra Review so once again, definitely give that a watch.

But, I’m glad to say that none of those are an issue with the Fold, having that Snapdragon Processor is the reason why we can indeed run the Google Camera APK. This wouldn’t have worked if we had an Exynos variant. So, thanks to the Snapdragon 855 Processor, as well as 12GB of RAM, performance on the Fold has been excellent. Things are snappy and Navigation is fast & fluid. Since you have those 12GB of RAM, I haven’t had any issues with Apps closing in the background and in fact, you can even lock certain Apps in the background so that they never reload and always stay open. 

Software

But performance really means nothing if you cannot take full use of that power. I’m happy to say that the Fold fully utilises that performance, which combined with massive 7.3” Display, you can open three Apps at the same time and use them fully. You can even have one more as a floating App, for a total of four. These can all be running at the very same time and all of them are usable in real time.

You might think that I’m always on my Smartphone because…I review Smartphones, but that’s actually not the case at all. I spent almost my entire day in front of my computer, I only use my Smartphone when I’m at home and even then, I still prefer using my Laptop. However, when I’m traveling or on the go, this is when I spend all of my time on a Smartphone. This isn’t just for communicating but also for doing actual work such as replying to emails, setting up my calendar and scheduling content, all of that. Because of this, I need a large-screen Smartphone.

The Fold runs Android 10 and gets more than enough updates to keep it going.

The Fold runs Android 10 and gets more than enough updates to keep it going.

I remember this one specific time, when I was travelling to IFA last September and I had a PDF with all of my activities for the week. I had to put events from that PDF onto my Calendar. But, on my iPhone, I couldn’t do that at all because you cannot run split-screen Apps. You have to constantly go back and forward between them and remember the info that you had in the previous one, which is an absolute nightmare. This is why I was always using my Note 10+, whenever I was traveling, because of that massive Display & S-Pen. The Fold is just an even bigger Note 10+, which is even more perfect for what I do. This is really the best productivity based Smartphone, I just wish it had an S-Pen.

Samsung’s OneUI 2.0 looks incredible. It’s by far my favourite Android Skin. I love the ability to have Folders in the App Drawer as well as on my Home-Screen as it gives me an extra layer of customisation. One-handed usability is also there as you are able to bring down the Notification Panel by swiping down anywhere on the screen.

Samsung have finally started releasing more updates for their Smartphones. The Fold now runs on Android 10 and while it is not getting as many updates as the Note or the Galaxy S line, it is still receiving more updates than all of my other Android Smartphones, with the exception of Pixel and OnePlus devices.

Probably the best part about OneUI is DeX. So, when you connect the Fold to a monitor, it would boot into this Desktop UI Mode where you can connect a Keyboard, a Mouse and really use the Fold like you would use your desktop PC. You can run the Desktop versions of Chrome and Microsoft Office, so if you can’t be bothered buying a PC for your home, the Fold can actually replace three devices now. It’s a Smartphone, a Tablet and a Desktop PC (for very casual users).

My only complaint, software wise, is that the the Wallpaper sometimes glitches out and sometimes I do have some frame-drops. I didn’t really had this before the Android 10 update, so I’m hoping that these would be fixed in a future software update. But, nothing too major.

Special Features

Moving on to special features, let’s talk about the ones that the Fold lacks because there’s quite a few of those. To start with, the Galaxy Fold has no Water Resistance at all. Because of that Hinge design, Samsung couldn’t water-proof this Smartphone, meaning that if rain drops hit it, it’s as good as dead. To add to that, there is no Dust Resistance either. This reminds me of Smartphones back in 2015, way before Water and Dust Resistance was even a thing.

Also, unlike the Galaxy S or Galaxy Note lines, there is no SD Card slot at all on the Fold and, like you’ve heard before, you only get support for one physical SIM. The second SIM that you add has to be an eSIM. The good news is that you get an insane 512GB of Storage and there is no higher-end version of the Fold, there’s the baseline and that’s it. This also has UFS 3.0 Storage, which is insanely fast with speeds of over 1Gb/s. 

Despite all that it can do, the current Fold is still very easily damaged.

Despite all that it can do, the current Fold is still very easily damaged.

The vibration motor is very good. It seems to be the exact same one as in the Galaxy Note 10+ and the S20’s. You get an actual Haptic response every time to type or when you hit a toggle in the Settings. It gives you the impression that you’re actually pressing physical buttons on the screen. 

We do get 5G, sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G, which is great. You also get something called ‘Samsung Concierge’ and ‘SamsungCare+’ with the Fold, meaning that you have access to exclusive 24/7 Help. Samsung will replace your Display for free during the first year as well as fix or replace the entire Smartphone if you’re having any issues with it or even if you accidentally drop or break it.

However, you do have to register for SamsungCare+ manually, which is quite bad in my opinion. You have 30 days to do so and in my case, I tried registering but the website is all glitched and I couldn’t click the next button to actually register. I’ve been in talks with Samsung support, but hey don’t now what the issue is and they’re currently looking into it. My only complaint here, aside from the SamsungCare+ registration, are that the Fingerprint Reader is slow and very difficult to find. So, I’m pretty much using FaceUnlock exclusively on my Fold. 

The S-Pen would’ve been perfect on a device like this. We don’t have one but we’ve seen tons of leaks & rumors that the Fold 2 will indeed come with one. 

Battery 

Battery Life has been excellent, even with that fairly small 4380mAh Battery. It can easily last me through an entire day and we get Fast Charging, Wireless Charging and Reverse Wireless Charging, for charging things like those Galaxy Buds that we got in the box. 

Value 

In the end, is the Galaxy Fold worth it? Right now, no. But that’s because the Fold 2 is coming out very soon. We’ll have a video on that in the upcoming weeks so definitely subscribe and hit the bell icon for that. 

But as a whole package, the Fold offers something that no other Smartphone offers. It offers a Tablet that you can put in your pocket. The Screen-Size is perfect for reading and for emailing. The typing is great, I love the more squared off Form-Factor and in the end, like I said, this is the perfect device for productivity.  So, if you’re a CEO or a business person, there’s nothing better than this.

For the average person, unless you can get this for a very good deal, paying $2000 for it isn’t worth it at all. Also, keep in mind that you have to be extra careful with this Smartphone. But, I’m personally extremely happy with my Fold and I’m genuinely looking forward to the future. Because you see, this is the future of Smartphones. Just like the first iPhone, the Fold isn’t perfect but it lays the foundation for what’s yet to come.

THIS is the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2!

Samsung is leading the innovation game when it comes to smartphones right now. The Galaxy Fold was one of the most innovative smartphones of the past 10 years, I’d actually go as far as to say that the Galaxy Fold is the most innovative smartphone since the iPhone came out back in 2007.

This is the first actual foldable phone, that came from a major smartphone manufacturer. A phone that’s technically a tablet and then folds in half into something that’s much more portable. Now, yes the Huawei Mate X is in many ways even more innovative but that’s not out just yet, so Samsung Galaxy Fold was and still is one of the most unique phones to ever see the light of day.

In fact, Samsung’s already working on the second generation Fold, the Fold 2 for a release in 2020, so get those snacks ready and here’s everything we know so far, about the Fold 2!

Ok, so the first Galaxy Fold was not a flawless product. It was first teased at Samsung’s Developers Conference, back in November 2018 and back then, we couldn’t really see much.

When it was first shown off, the design of the Fold was hard to determine thanks to the darkened stage

When it was first shown off, the design of the Fold was hard to determine thanks to the darkened stage

All that Samsung showed us was a phone that had a very small outer display that unfolded into a larger tablet. The issue with it was that you couldn’t really see anything in terms of its design, since I believe the Fold was in a case and the scene was made dark on purpose, so that you couldn’t really tell what Samsung’s new innovative phone was.

But this was something that was leaked and rumoured and hyped so much! We even made videos on this back in 2017, on the Foldable Galaxy X, and back then our concepts weren’t that great, but I think we’ve evolved a ton since. 

Anyway, a few months later and in February 2019, the  Fold was officially unveiled by Samsung. Full design, full specs and shortly after, reviewers have gotten their hands on it and they found out that it broke extremely easily. You see, since the display was made out of plastic, any dust or debris that got under the display, killed it off instantly. So Samsung cancelled the release, in order to redesign the Fold and they’ve made a few tweaks, they’ve tested it thoroughly and finally re-released it in September 2019, almost an entire year since the November 2018 tease. 

And the reviews have now been quite positive.  I mean, you could literally kill the display with your fingernail, since the display was still made out of plastic, but at least it now as more difficult for dust and debris to get under the display. This is thanks to that screen-protector layer that a lot of reviewers ended up removing, now being attached under the frame of the phone.

So so far so good, but now we’re in November 2019, just in time for Samsung’s 2019 Developers Conference and they’ve actually released a video titled “A New Form Factor for Foldable Smartphones”. This video is pretty much pointing at the next thing to come after the Galaxy Fold. The video starts with the Galaxy Fold but then they increase the display size and turn it into what looks to be a similar to our Galaxy S11 concept, where we have that very tall 20:9 aspect ratio display and just a central camera cutout. But what’s really interesting about this folding phone is that instead of folding horizontally like the Galaxy Fold does, it actually folds vertically. 

But probably one of the biggest differences is that instead of being a foldable tablet that folds into a phone, this is essentially a regular phone that folds in half, like those old clam shell phones did back in the days of OG cellphones. Now, this is a pretty interesting approach, because I personally find foldable tablets to more way more useful than foldable phones. I mean what would the point of the Fold 2 be, if it’s just a regular smartphone that folds in half? I guess the fact that you can hang up on phone-calls in a really cool way but aside from that, a foldable phone is actually worse from a functional standpoint than a non foldable phone. The reason I say this is because when you fold it in half, whilst you do decrease the height of it by half, but you also increase the thickness of it by two. So rather than having a long thin sheet of metal in your pocket, you would have a short and fat piece of meal and I’m personally not into that. 

However, it seems like there might just be a market for these types of devices.

The new Moto Razr of 2019 (Source: TechRadar)

The new Moto Razr of 2019 (Source: TechRadar)

Do you guys remember the famous Motorola Razr phone? That iconic clam shell smartphone that had a colour display on the back and an extremely thin form factor, for its time at least back in 2005. I never had one myself but I was in middle school back then and one classmate had one and I was always so interested in it, but my parents couldn’t afford buying me one so I never had one. This was back when Motorola was one of the best and most popular cell phone manufacturers. 

Well last week Motorola unveiled the new Moto Razr 2019 which is still a clam shell phone but with a more modern twist to it. So it now has a full-screen display and that’s the one that also folds now, pretty nuts when you realise how far we’ve come since. 

In my opinion, the Moto Razr 2019 is very close to what the Galaxy Fold 2 will look like. It will be a clamshell style foldable phone, rather than a foldable tablet like the Fold 1 was. However I actually do believe that this Fold 2 will not be called Fold 2 and instead something else. The Fold E or something along those lines. The reason for this is mainly because if you look back at Samsung’s teaser video, towards the end, they show both the Galaxy Fold 1 and the unreleased one as well, making me think that it won’t replace the current Fold but rather add onto the lineup.

I do think that this is a great choice! You see, by having two foldable devices, or even more if Samsung decides to expand on the lineup in the future, customers get even more choice at different price-levels as well. We all know that the Galaxy Fold is crazy expensive, at close to £2000 in the UK there’s not many people buying this. However, the Fold E or whatever this new fold will be called, should start at a much more reasonable price. The Moto Razr 2019 would cost $1500, compared to $2000 and even £2000 that the Galaxy Fold 1 costs. Therefore it would make a lot of sense for this Fold E to start from $1500 or so. 

News website, TheBell from South Korea which had some fairly good track record in the past when it comes to unreleased products, reports that the Galaxy Fold 2 is currently in development and uses the code name Bloom and that it will actually be released in April 2020.

And considering that the Fold that Samsung has teased looks pretty much identical to the S11 leaks, this could even be a variant of the S11. The S11 Fold? I think that’s a very plausible scenario, but that’s just my personal prediction but we’ll see if that turns out to be true.

Also the S11 event will be in late February, which will point to a March release for the S11, so April for the Fold E/S11 Fold doesn’t seem that unlikely either. 

Our concept of the Galaxy Fold 2 showing the clam shell hinge idea

Our concept of the Galaxy Fold 2 showing the clam shell hinge idea

Now, we’ve actually made our very own concept of the Galaxy Fold 2, based on all the leaks that we’ve had and even one of Samsung’s patents that does shows a foldable clam shell style smartphone. We’ve based this off of the Galaxy S11+ design, that comes with a gigantic 6.9” display size, with that single camera cutout in the middle. We have new Quad-Camera module on the back, which now adds the brand new 108MP sensor, just like on the S11, and we’ve modelled the hinge in quite a unique way.

Rather than doing it like Samsung has done it with the Fold 1, we’ve done it in a similar way to how Motorola has done it with the 2019 Razr, where the mechanism is actually on the inside, and then it’s protected and sealed by this rubber hinge on the outside. This means that the phone still preserves its water and dust resistance, unlike the Fold 1 which lacked both of those. Also, this is the same style hinge that Samsung has in one of their Galaxy Fold patents that do show a smartphone that folds vertically. 

Now, comparing that design to the Moto Razr 2019, the Moto Razr does have a more usable design, as we do have another display on the back. Even though it’s a very small display, which is just being used for seeing incoming notifications and reading quick messages, at least you do have that. From the looks of it, the new version of the Galaxy Fold will not have any display on its back, however there are a few Samsung patents that do show this display folding both ways and that would be quite cool, being able to fold the fold on its back and have two mini-displays in this case. However, I dont see this having any major functionality for me at least, as I still prefer the idea of a foldable tablet, than a modern clam shell phone. 

Now, interesting enough, there is a second patent that shows something completely different. This one was found by tech website LetsGoDigital and it shows what appears to be a foldable Galaxy Tab S rather than a Galaxy Fold 2. We have what looks to be a very big tablet sized display, with a fairly thick frame all across it, but I genuinely would pick this over the gigantic side notch that the Galaxy Fold 1 has, and we also seem to have a large display on the front to go with that.

The fold patents as seen on Letsgodigital (Source: Letsgodigital)

The fold patents as seen on Letsgodigital (Source: Letsgodigital)

We also have two more patents , also found by LetsGoDigital that show something similar to the Galaxy Fold 1. Just with a thinner notch, and even a massive display that would actually fold vertically, rather than having mostly the same functionality as the Fold 1 does. So judging by all of these patents, it seems like Samsung is experimenting with different approaches to folding phones. A foldable Galaxy S11, a foldable Galaxy Tab S, a Galaxy Fold that folds vertically and possibly some even more form factors that we haven’t yet seen leaked.

So I’m really looking forward to seeing more foldable devices. I do hope however that the industry doesn’t start making “cool” foldable phones like a clam shell phone is rather than truly useful foldable devices, like a foldable tablet would be.