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- Samsung finally unveiled its ambitious folding smartphone on Wednesday, the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
- The $US1,980 smartphone transforms into a tablet when unfolded.
- The Galaxy Fold boasts six cameras, two large batteries, and a seamless transition from smartphone to tablet.
Samsung’s “next big thing” in 2019 is a truly ambitious new take on the smartphone: A device that unfolds from a small smartphone into a bigger tablet.
Having finally seen the Galaxy Fold in action during a Samsung presentation on Wednesday, we’ve broken down the 7 coolest things about it right here:
1. Let’s start with the showstopper: Yes, the Galaxy Fold transforms from a smartphone into a tablet.
2. The transition from smartphone to tablet is seamless, more or less.
Having opened Google Maps on the smartphone side of the Galaxy Fold, the same app – running in a larger form factor to match the tablet – opens seamlessly when the phone is unfolded.
Samsung calls this “app continuity,” and the concept is really simple: Anything you start doing on the smartphone side of the phone needs to continue seamlessly when you open it into tablet mode (and vice versa).
In so many words, both the smartphone screen and the tablet screen need to reflect the same computing system. And with the Galaxy Fold, they do.
3. The fingerprint sensor is hidden in a brilliant place.
Just below the volume buttons, on the right side of the Galaxy Fold, Samsung placed the fingerprint sensor. It’s a smart solution to unlocking the device regardless of whether it’s folded closed or open in tablet form.
4. It has a pretty serious battery — two, actually!
Powering a smartphone screen and a tablet screen is no small task. As such, Samsung is outright putting two batteries into the Galaxy Fold. The idea is that, with their powers combined, it’s the equivalent of having one very large battery.
How long do they last? That remains to be seen – and Samsung isn’t offering any predictions just yet – but we’d expect somewhere in the ballpark of one day based on current smartphone standards.
5. Some pretty serious multi-tasking.
Because the Galaxy Fold is both smartphone and tablet, it’s gotta live up to the demands of tablet power-users. As such, it’s capable of simultaneously running three apps at once.
Though it’s unlikely you’ll be running three apps simultaneously all the time, the functionality is a smart nod to the tablet side of the Fold.
6. So, so many cameras: Six!
There you were, thinking that a smartphone with four cameras was outrageous. Samsung’s response? Here’s a phone that folds open and has six cameras.
The idea behind all the cameras is that, no matter how you’re using the device at any given moment, you’ll still be able to snap a photo. Still, the idea of having six cameras on your person at any given moment – in one device, no less! – is pretty hilarious.
7. It just looks crazy. Look at this thing!
It’s pretty safe to say there aren’t any other smartphones that look like the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
It’s super thin, and the front screen – just 4.6 inches – only takes up a portion of front of the device. But then it literally unfolds into a 7.3-inch tablet. What a crazy piece of technology!
Whether or not it’s a good design or something more than a unique gimmick remains to be seen, but it’s certainly unique.
Take a closer look at the Galaxy Fold right here:
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