Given that this phone is the technological equivalent of commenting "First!" I wouldn't think people silly enough to buy it care much about longevity or even usability.
But IS it a neat concept? If you have a handbag maybe. But I ask you to put two iPhones XS Max (or your other choice of LARGE phone) together. Notice how thick the bundle is --- seriously thick. Do you want that in your pockets? And compare to the size of an XS Max. Height is same. Width is 50% larger. Depth is twice. This thing is HUGE! It's not being used to make a plus sized phone smaller; it's being used to give a plus sized phone a screen the size of an iPad.
I'm not sure that, psychologically and practically, this fulfills the role of a phone. I suspect it more fulfills the role of an iPad mini, meaning that it expects to live in a backpack or briefcase, and to be used for 15min+ sessions, not quite interactions.
And you could justify the existence of a product like that -- but that doesn't seem to be how it is being sold... I suspect most users who this AS A PHONE, rather than AS AN IPAD MINI, will ultimately be unhappy with the purchase.
Practical concerns are largely irrelevant for Samsung. They are targeting this phone to people who like to brag to their friends and everyone they know that they are "the first with a bending phone", or at least the first in the neighborhood. That is a domain beyond far reason and common sense, residing deep in the rabbit hole of narcissism, insecurity and inferiority complexes.
A POS which has a Notch even when it has 2 slabs for folding mechanism which completely removes the notch necessity given how many cameras it has on the front and back, but Samdung wanted to push more towards the camera game and give it a notch.
Further degenerating it has no MicroSD slot (No not because the space, but an SD slot is very useful for any emergency situations, contingency, fast transfer, a dead phone and free from the clutches of the Cloud depedendency)
No 3.5mm jack, given how thicc this ugly device is after numerous mocking against Apple. And less battery, again how 2 slab design allows for a more flexible design for battery at more than 6000Mah, Zenfone 6 has 5000MaH with SD855, ROG II has 6000MaH battery both have fast charging.
So you are buying to be able to fold a social media toy given it's complete lack of productivity and meaningful necessity. Oh the design the back is so ugly, another Chinese vertical camera module inspired by Apple, what's next Samsung Googlve caved in and copied the iPhone cancerous rumor of that ugly bump with Pixel 4 and now it's your turn. Huawei is having a round module, next copy that ? Fucking awful.
Of course the people who have insane money to burn on a planned obsolescence brick will buy and brag about it also ShillTubers as well. Shamesung has fallen from grace.
They're really something, aren't they? Every post is a wonder. It's like someone picked up a computer user from 1995—complete with the disquieting obsession over inconsequential engineering details and long-forgotten features—and dropped them into a modern day conversation. And it's all "bleat bleat bleat bleat bleat" with little insults and appeals to authority about how they spent all this time customizing their whatever with zero self awareness that the rest of the world is receding in the distance.
"When bough in retail and without a contract, the Samsung Galaxy Fold will cost $1980 in the US, £1799 in the UK, and €2000 in Eurozone." As of this moment with 2,000 € you can buy $2,207 USD. So Samsung imposes a "Euro tax" of $227 / 206 € before even taxes? Or do the 2,000 € include the average EU VAT? My educated guess would be that's before taxes, so in an EU country with a high VAT rate of 24% (like Greece or Finland) this thing will cost 2,480 € ($2,737 USD) at a minimum.
Is the gimmick it offers, which is still untested and potentially fragile, worth that kind of money? If I had 2,500 euros to burn on some tech item I would much rather buy a cutting edge laptop (perhaps I would wait a while for the Zen 2 APU based ones to launch) than this thing. Sure, I could not brag to my friends that I have the first bending crap to reach the market, but I wouldn't give a toss about that.
p.s. It's certainly before taxes. There is no EU country with a 11% VAT rate (the rate needed to go from $1980 to $2,200) or anything close to that. Luxembourg's 17% VAT rate is the lowest.
"Features [...] It Folds" haha. For real this is awesome to see. Sure it cost $2k in late 2019 but by 2021 this feature set will likely be available for $400 or so. Of course theres a good chance the new iphone in 2021-2022 integrates a folding screen model at the top of the phone product stack. With Apple keeping the ~$1k price point range for single screen phones and introducing the 2k price point for double the screen real estate via folding models. (Of course no headphone jack though rip)
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FSWKU - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
It's a neat concept, but it's not $2,000 neat. Not when it'll be obsolete within a year or so.Lord of the Bored - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
Assuming it still WORKS in a year or so. I'm pretty lacking in confidence here.Valantar - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
Given that this phone is the technological equivalent of commenting "First!" I wouldn't think people silly enough to buy it care much about longevity or even usability.name99 - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
But IS it a neat concept? If you have a handbag maybe. But I ask you to put two iPhones XS Max (or your other choice of LARGE phone) together. Notice how thick the bundle is --- seriously thick. Do you want that in your pockets?And compare to the size of an XS Max. Height is same. Width is 50% larger. Depth is twice. This thing is HUGE! It's not being used to make a plus sized phone smaller; it's being used to give a plus sized phone a screen the size of an iPad.
I'm not sure that, psychologically and practically, this fulfills the role of a phone. I suspect it more fulfills the role of an iPad mini, meaning that it expects to live in a backpack or briefcase, and to be used for 15min+ sessions, not quite interactions.
And you could justify the existence of a product like that -- but that doesn't seem to be how it is being sold...
I suspect most users who this AS A PHONE, rather than AS AN IPAD MINI, will ultimately be unhappy with the purchase.
Santoval - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
Practical concerns are largely irrelevant for Samsung. They are targeting this phone to people who like to brag to their friends and everyone they know that they are "the first with a bending phone", or at least the first in the neighborhood. That is a domain beyond far reason and common sense, residing deep in the rabbit hole of narcissism, insecurity and inferiority complexes.GreenReaper - Sunday, September 8, 2019 - link
The Nintendo DS was folding, too. I'm sure people who want it will find a way to carry it.Quantumz0d - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
A POS which has a Notch even when it has 2 slabs for folding mechanism which completely removes the notch necessity given how many cameras it has on the front and back, but Samdung wanted to push more towards the camera game and give it a notch.Further degenerating it has no MicroSD slot (No not because the space, but an SD slot is very useful for any emergency situations, contingency, fast transfer, a dead phone and free from the clutches of the Cloud depedendency)
No 3.5mm jack, given how thicc this ugly device is after numerous mocking against Apple. And less battery, again how 2 slab design allows for a more flexible design for battery at more than 6000Mah, Zenfone 6 has 5000MaH with SD855, ROG II has 6000MaH battery both have fast charging.
So you are buying to be able to fold a social media toy given it's complete lack of productivity and meaningful necessity. Oh the design the back is so ugly, another Chinese vertical camera module inspired by Apple, what's next Samsung Googlve caved in and copied the iPhone cancerous rumor of that ugly bump with Pixel 4 and now it's your turn. Huawei is having a round module, next copy that ? Fucking awful.
Of course the people who have insane money to burn on a planned obsolescence brick will buy and brag about it also ShillTubers as well. Shamesung has fallen from grace.
damianrobertjones - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
...You don't like it then?Ironchef3500 - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
:)Death666Angel - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
"ShillTubers", "Shamesung". Thank god I didn't spend more time reading your post than glancing at it and seeing those terms.shabby - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
You forgot samdung.The Garden Variety - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
They're really something, aren't they? Every post is a wonder. It's like someone picked up a computer user from 1995—complete with the disquieting obsession over inconsequential engineering details and long-forgotten features—and dropped them into a modern day conversation. And it's all "bleat bleat bleat bleat bleat" with little insults and appeals to authority about how they spent all this time customizing their whatever with zero self awareness that the rest of the world is receding in the distance.HardwareDufus - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
stop being so coy and tell us how you really feel. ;pSantoval - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
"When bough in retail and without a contract, the Samsung Galaxy Fold will cost $1980 in the US, £1799 in the UK, and €2000 in Eurozone."As of this moment with 2,000 € you can buy $2,207 USD. So Samsung imposes a "Euro tax" of $227 / 206 € before even taxes? Or do the 2,000 € include the average EU VAT? My educated guess would be that's before taxes, so in an EU country with a high VAT rate of 24% (like Greece or Finland) this thing will cost 2,480 € ($2,737 USD) at a minimum.
Is the gimmick it offers, which is still untested and potentially fragile, worth that kind of money? If I had 2,500 euros to burn on some tech item I would much rather buy a cutting edge laptop (perhaps I would wait a while for the Zen 2 APU based ones to launch) than this thing. Sure, I could not brag to my friends that I have the first bending crap to reach the market, but I wouldn't give a toss about that.
Santoval - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
p.s. It's certainly before taxes. There is no EU country with a 11% VAT rate (the rate needed to go from $1980 to $2,200) or anything close to that. Luxembourg's 17% VAT rate is the lowest.WPX00 - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
In general, consider any prices for US to be before taxes, and anywhere else after taxes. Good rule of thumb in the electronics world.s.yu - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
Yeah that's what I thought too, then he mentioned different VAT rates...stephenbrooks - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
They should make one that folds four ways and price it at $8kSkeptical123 - Sunday, September 8, 2019 - link
"Features [...] It Folds" haha. For real this is awesome to see. Sure it cost $2k in late 2019 but by 2021 this feature set will likely be available for $400 or so. Of course theres a good chance the new iphone in 2021-2022 integrates a folding screen model at the top of the phone product stack. With Apple keeping the ~$1k price point range for single screen phones and introducing the 2k price point for double the screen real estate via folding models. (Of course no headphone jack though rip)GlossGhost - Tuesday, September 24, 2019 - link
Not living up to your username.