We really liked the Galaxy Fold when we spent time testing the unreleased original handset back in April, but just before it was due to get into customers’ hands, a series of serious issues were discovered, and Samsung wisely pulled it.
But now it’s back, with a gentle redesign that fixes the big issues, and will be available to buy by the time you read this. It still has the ultra-premium price tag we were always promised, though, coming in at a cool £1,900 SIM-free, in a 5G-enabled model.
Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that price is £100 more than the UK price quoted earlier this year, but that’s because we’re now getting the 5G variant in the UK, not the 4G one as was announced earlier.
So, what’s changed in the last five months? Well, the truth is: very little. The Fold still comes with the same gorgeous and pliable 7.3-inch AMOLED display, which folds directly down the middle, and it still delivers the same genuinely refreshing ability to transform in an instant from tall and long phone, to easy-to-hold-in-one hand tablet. When unfolded, it really is like holding an iPad mini, just one that you can then comfortably fit in your pocket.
What has changed, though, is how the phone is protected. The screen, for example, on the first Fold featured a protective plastic
The new design is more durable, and looks better cover that ran to the edges of the display, but stopped short of the chassis. The problem with this was that people found they could get their fingers under the plastic cover, and assumed it was just a protective film for shipping ready to peeled off… so they peeled it. It was not supposed to be peeled. So this has now been changed, and on the new Fold the cover extends under the edges of the casing, meaning that it cannot be lifted away from the panel.
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