The first Samsung Galaxy Fold: Ahead of the Galaxy Unpacked

The first decade of the 21st century was a time when innovation in smartphone design was probably at its peak. We’ve seen companies release conceptually bold smartphones, and the focus has always been on differentiating them. The era gave us some of the most iconic devices such as the Samsung Corby with its sliding keyboard, the Nokia 7600 – the square phone – and the iconic Motorola Razr V3 – the flip phone. And while most of these designs have been forgotten with advances in technology and streamlined design aesthetics, the flip phone has created a frenzy that smartphone makers really couldn’t let go.

In the 2010s, as touchscreens became mainstream, companies started toying with the idea of ​​foldable phones, with the focus back then still being on adding an extra screen. From Nokia to Kyocera to Chinas ZTE and Japans NEC, all presented their own vision of fashion. But none of the smartphones really focused on a single bendable screen, and just added a separate screen using a hinge. So close and yet so far.

It wasn’t until 2018, when OLED screens appeared, that smartphone makers could really consider what we call a modern foldable smartphone. In November 2018, Royole, a China-based company, became the first to commercially launch a foldable smartphone, although it has an outlandish design where it folds outward, and hasn’t really caught on.

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But just three months later, that all changed when Samsung became the first major smartphone player to announce its own foldable smartphone called the Samsung Galaxy Fold at its Mobile World Congress media event in February 2019. And with its inward-folding smartphone featuring a single transparent OLED display, the design became an instant hit.

But that wasn’t when Samsung thought it would be the iPhone. In fact, in the months since the phone’s launch, it has become both remarkable technology and a horror show. This is the story of the first generation of the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.

Samsung Galaxy Fold: disastrous innovation that took off on the 2nd try

Featuring a flexible 7.3-inch tablet-sized display and a 4.6-inch cover screen and equipped with a Snapdragon 855 chipset and a triple rear camera setup with a 12MP wide lens, another 12MP telephoto lens and a 16MP ultra-wide lens, Samsung instantly became the talk of the town. That is, until the review units are sent out.

Once critics got the phones in their hands, things quickly turned around. A swarm of reviewers began complaining about dead pixels, debris stuck in the hinges, and the non-removable screen protector that comes off on its own. Samsung then recalled all review units and delayed its launch.

Many thought this would be the end of Samsung’s foldable dreams. But not to falter, the company reworked every part of the phone and finally launched it in September.

The relaunch was more successful than the first time around, but critics were still unconvinced. In order to ensure that the devices work as intended, Samsung has released a long list of things not to do with the device. Many reviewers have pointed out that it looks like an experimental drug with a long list of side effects. Samsung actually told users not to press hard on the screen and keep it away from credit cards. And then there was the hefty $2,000 price tag that made it unaffordable to most people anyway.

But despite the criticism, the Samsung Galaxy Fold also had an aura that demanded admiration. Dieter Bohn of The Verge celebrates said, While I would never buy the Galaxy Fold and wouldn’t recommend anyone else to either, I’m going to keep thinking about it. Because there could be the start of something really new here, something really different.

It wasn’t a smartphone without its flaws, but it promised something that no other phone on the market did. A truly revolutionary technology that could, in a few generations, become reliable and affordable.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip: ingenious technology wrapped in familiarity

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip arrived 5 months after Fold, in February 2020. But this time, Samsung had prepared well and wasn’t just letting its Frankenstein sub-experience walk out the door. It was a much more polished design and contained an ingenious idea that has stuck with the series even today (and no, we’re not talking about the Z brand).

Samsung spent a lot of time at its launch event talking about Flex Mode. It was the smartphone’s ability to stay in place in the middle of the fold and it was the first smartphone to be able to do so. This increased its user-friendliness tenfold. From using it as a separate second screen to treating it as a tripod for snapping photos of yourself (not to be confused with selfies), it had plenty of cool features.

And with its familiar clamshell design that gave people nostalgia for the early 2000s, Samsung’s innovative ultra-thin (therefore flexible) plastic OLED panel, and a Snapdragon 855+ chipset, it’s quickly become a popular device.

But the downsides were there too. For example, it only had a 1.1-inch cover screen that you could barely use to check notifications, meaning anytime you needed to use the phone for something as simple as taking a call, you had to unfold it.

But somewhere, Samsung had cracked the code to create something as bizarre as a smartphone glass display that folds in half, making it look like it could be something you could use as your primary device. Bohn from The Verge said the best, highest praise I can give it is that after five days of use, I found myself thinking the Z Flip was pretty normal. I have complaints and I have many, many concerns. But after a while, the Z Flip kind of stopped looking like a special foldable phone and felt like my phone.

And that was the magical story of the first generation of Samsung foldables. But we’ve come a long way since that. In a few more days, we should see the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event. And we can’t wait to see the kind of technological innovation Samsung has in store for us!

Stay tuned.