The Galaxy Fold Review: A Cautionary Tale

As I began reviewing the Samsung Galaxy Fold, I couldn't help but feel excitement and curiosity about this revolutionary device. The $1,980 price tag was steep, but the prospect of a phone that can fold nearly in half like a tablet was too enticing to resist. However, as I delved deeper into my review process, I encountered two distinct issues that left me with a broken screen and a sense of unease.

The first issue arose when I noticed a slight bump under the screen when it was completely open. The sensation was barely perceptible, but it seemed to indicate that something might be amiss. When the phone was closed, the bump disappeared, suggesting that the problem lay in the way the screen flexed when opened. At this point, I didn't think much of it, assuming it was a minor issue that would resolve itself. But as fate would have it, my concerns proved to be well-founded.

The next morning, I woke up to find that the bump had caused significant damage to the screen. A line had appeared, and upon closer inspection, I realized that the screen had been compromised beyond repair. This was a wake-up call, and I couldn't help but wonder what other issues lay in store for this device. The question on my mind was: how could something as seemingly robust as a foldable phone screen be so vulnerable to damage?

As it turned out, Samsung's attempts to address the issue were not entirely satisfactory. In a statement regarding the problem, the company acknowledged that the removable screen protector layer on the front of the screen was designed to be non-removable. This assertion seemed at odds with my own experience, as I had attempted to pull off the screen protector and ended up damaging the phone in the process. It appears that Samsung's design decisions may have inadvertently created a fragile system that is prone to failure.

The root cause of the problem remains unknown, but it's clear that something got stuck between the screen and the hinge during my first review unit. The company has since replaced my unit, but the experience has left me with a lasting impression of the potential risks associated with this innovative technology. As I reflect on my time with the Galaxy Fold, I am reminded that even the most cutting-edge devices can be vulnerable to unexpected issues.

The Galaxy Fold's sleek design and impressive features make it an appealing option for those willing to take a chance on a pioneering device. However, as we've seen in this review, the consequences of failure can be severe. Samsung may have created something truly remarkable with the Galaxy Fold, but the company must also acknowledge its limitations and work towards addressing these issues before the device is released to the general public.

The impact of this experience extends beyond my own review of the Galaxy Fold. It highlights the need for manufacturers to thoroughly test their products in real-world scenarios before launching them into the market. In an era where technology advances at a breakneck pace, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of new innovations without fully considering the potential risks and consequences. By sharing my story, I hope to serve as a cautionary tale for those who might be tempted by this revolutionary device – proceed with caution, and be prepared for the unexpected.

In conclusion, the Galaxy Fold is an impressive device that pushes the boundaries of what we thought was possible in mobile technology. However, its limitations and vulnerabilities must not be overlooked. As I reflect on my experience with this phone, I am reminded of the importance of responsible innovation and the need to prioritize user safety above all else.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(gentle music)- Uh, hang on a minute.We need to make thisGalaxy Fold review videoa little differently.See, I have a lot to say about this $1,980folding phone tablet thing because I thinkthere are a lot ofinteresting possibilities,and it is legitimatelyamazing to have a screenthat can fold nearly in half.But then we started to review this phone,and then, you may have heard about it.So as you can see, the screenon our Galaxy Fold is broken.I've got a line here and a line here,and here's what happened.Right about here underthe screen last nightI noticed that I could feel a little bumpunder the screen whenit was completely open.And when it wasn't completely openI didn't feel the bump at all.And last night it wasn'tcausing any problems.It was flexing thescreen out a little bit.I called it like a bulge.But when I woke up this morning,opened the phone up, ithad caused apparentlya little bit more damage, andso it's ruined the screen.Yeah, so there are twodifferent issues here.The first is that onthe front of the screenthere's this thing that looks likea removable screen protector,but it is not removable.Instead it's this layer that's appliedwith some serious adhesive,and it's basicallypart of the screen.If you try to pull itoff, which to be clearseems like a totallyreasonable thing to dogiven how it looks, youwill end up wreckingthe hell out of this phone.But that's not what happened to me.As near as I can tell something got stuckin between the screen and the hingeon my first review unit.I still don't know what it was,but I do know that it broke the screen.So, Samsung replaced my unit,and it gave a statement about the issue.It said, quote, \"We willthoroughly inspect these units.\"In other words, there's no answers yet.Which means, you can't trust this phone.I don't trust this phone.But Samsung also said thatit is full steam aheadfor the launch of thisphone on April 26th.So, what are the heck arewe supposed to do now?Well, we're gonna review the Galaxy Fold,but we're going to do itas if it were a devicethat doesn't seem to have this criticalfundamental design flawthat could break the screen.(gentle music)This is the Galaxy Fold.Before everything went to helland the first phone broke,here was my conclusion about this thing.I have never used a premium devicewith this many problemsthat I love this much.Screen breaking aside, andto be clear you should notset it aside, there arestill a bunch of problemswith this phone.The screen and theprotector thing are plasticwhich means it picks updings really, really easily.The front screen is toosmall to really use.Android still isn't as good asit should be in tablet mode.I could really go on and on,but then I open it upand I start using it,and I really like it.It's way nicer just having a big screenand I really like this almost exactlyfour by three aspect ratio.This main screen is 7.3 inches,which is just a little bitsmaller than an iPad Mini,but it's got way smallerbezels than an iPad Mini,which means that it's super easy to hold.And again, like having thismuch screen real estateon your phone is great.If you go into the system andset the zoom level to small,you end up getting three columns in email,and you get tabs in your browser.Playing games is reallyfun on this big screen too,and I have to say thatthis is my favorite devicefor reading Kindle books,including the actual Kindle itself.This is just the rightsize, and if you want,you can rotate it sidewaysand get two columns of text.Surprisingly, when I'm just using itand not looking for screen problems,I don't really notice thecrease between the two sides.Now, don't get me wrong,it is definitely there.You can definitely feel it.But, it's a little bit easier to ignorethan you might expect.Now, the notch on the top of the screen,well that's a little bit harder to ignorebecause most video appsget cut off by that notch,and you have to set the whole systemto hide the notch mode inorder to get rid of that,and that's super annoying.Also annoying, the refresh rate.Okay, so screens need to have controllersand usually they're at thetop or maybe the bottomof the phone, so when youscroll you don't noticethat there's actually a subtle differencein scroll speed fromthe top to the bottom.Unless you're really looking for it.But, because this thing folds in halfit has to put its screen controllerover somewhere else onthe right-hand side.So, when you scroll, youget this jelly effectwhere one side scrollsfaster than the other side.It's the sort of thingthat you don't notice,and then you notice it,and then you can justnever unsee it.Look, all these problems are real,and they are not acceptableon any smartphone,and definitely not a premium onethat costs, again, two thousand dollars.But, when you're actually using it,you do kind of forgetabout all those problemsbecause it's just a great little tablet.The colors on the screen are vivid,and they're also bright,and the whole thingdoes feel pretty good touse when it's opened up.All right, let's talk about some classicphone spec stuff now.It has a Snapdragon 855 processor,and 12 gigs of RAM, so it's very fast.It has 512 gigs of storage,and it also has a 4,380 milliamp battery.And that means thatI'm getting screen timein like the seven or eight hour range.This thing just lasts all day.It also has wireless charging,and you can charge otherdevices on the back of itlike the Galaxy Buds.There are, six, six cameras,and I'm not gonna spendtoo much time on thembecause they're basically the sameas what you get on the Galaxy S10+.There's one regular, one wide,and one telephoto on the back.One regular on the front,and then one regularand one depth sensing one on the inside.And, they're all very good,but that does meanthey're not quite as goodas what you'll get onPixel 3 or a P30 Pro.Now, it's not waterproofat all unfortunately.But, overall the buildquality felt pretty good.The hinge originally felt really solid.You know what?Well, let's just calldurability and build qualitya big question mark right now, okay?Yeah.There's no headphone jack, andthe button layout is weird.The fingerprint sensor is super fastand it's on the side,but instead of doublingas a power button, itdoubles as the Bixby button,which, why?Is this some dark pattern to trick meinto using Bixby more?I don't know, but I can tellyou that Bixby is still Bixby.As for the rest of the software,it's actually better than I expected.But, I didn't expect a lot because Androidhas never been great on tablets.The big new feature here is the thingcalled app continuity,and what it means isif you have an app open onthe tiny screen on the front,when you open it up, it'll be right thereon the big screen, fullyand properly resized.It's based on this workthat Google is doingto make Android apps resizablefor Chromebooks and tablets.But, not all apps support it yet,so sometimes when you do it you get an appthat's got black barson either side of it,and you have to relaunchthe app to resize it.Resizable apps also let Samsungdo its multitasking tricks on this thing.So, you can swipe over from the rightand select a second appto open in split screen.Then you can do it againto open a third appunderneath that one on the right.And then you can do crazy Samsung stuff,like open popoverwindows like real windowsand move them around, and resize them,and it's all just kind of a lot.And, it's okay, but it's no where nearas elegant as howmultitasking works on an iPad.Like, for example, youlose your window layoutsall the time.If you just close and open this thingyour multi-window layouts are just gone.Maybe all this will getbetter with Android Qlater this year, but that's not right now.Okay, but this isn't really just a tablet.It's also a phone, so let's talk aboutwhat it's like in phone mode.Just as a physical object, it's weird,like a big phone remote or something.It's super thick, and it's super heavy,and there's just no wayyou're gonna get thisto fit comfortably in your pants pocket.Plus, friends, the screenon the front of this thingis just too small.Technically it's 4.6 inches,but that's a diagonal measurement,and so it feels way smaller than thatbecause it's so narrow.You can barely type on this thing.What I ended up doing is basicallytreating it like a glorifiedsuper powered lock screen.And, maybe that's the point.It has a totally differenthome screen layoutthan the main screen, soI ended up just puttingthe stuff on it that I use in my commute,and that's Google Maps,holedown, and Spotify.So all that's the annoyingpart of this screen,but once again there wasthis weird possibilitythat I could not only get used to thatbut almost learn to like it.Here's what I mean.Think about this thingthat happens all the timewith your phone.You pull it out to check something quickbut then all of a suddena half hour has gone bywhile you were scrollingInstagram or whatever.It's a real problem, but it's a problemI didn't really have with the Galaxy Foldbecause when I was justusing the tiny screenI wanted to get something doneand put it away really fastbecause the tiny screen's not that good.But then, when I unfolded it and used itI was really using it.I had to hold it in two hands.It became an active thingthat I chose to be doing.It required some intentionality.Phones, they fit in our in-between times,when you're just waiting in lineor you have a minute to glance at it.But then it fills up that minuteand then it sort of justfills up everything.The Galaxy Fold though is too bigto fit in those in-between times.So I ended up feeling better abouthow I was using thisphone than I usually dowhen I use a regular phone.Is that worth $2,000?Is it worth all of the first generationproblems that you run into here?Is it worth the risk of buying a phonewhose screen might be so fragilethat it could break at any minuteif a piece of debris getsstuck between it and the hinge?Nope, nope, and super nope.But it is worth thinking about.And even though I'm gonnabe sending this thing backand definitely not spending the two grand,I'm gonna keep thinking about it.Because, you know what?There is something really new here.Something different.I just wish it wasn't also, well, broken.\n"