Practical work with the Samsung Galaxy Fold: more than a concept

Two months after an announcement where Samsung was talking about the Galaxy Fold but did not allow anyone to touch it, we finally got our hands on it. The $ 1,980 unit will begin shipping on April 26, but will likely be in very limited quantities.

Here is the TL; DR that most of you expect: it feels much more stable and polite than expected, but there is still work to be done on the software. Ok, here's what you are really wait: you can see (and feel) the fold on the folding screen, but it's really not very visible and it may be worth it to have a large folding screen.

The purchase of the first version of a new type of gadget carries many risks. And the Fold is a first: it's a phone with a 4.6-inch screen that reveals a 7.3-inch tablet inside. That's how we all thought: a folding phone. But after using the Galaxy Fold for about an hour today, I started to think of it as a small tablet that folds.

This change of perspective makes a big difference in terms of the physical character of the Fold. If you consider it a phone, it's ridiculous. It's very big and much thicker than any phone when it's closed. When you fold it, there is a small space, because the screen can not be completely folded flat. The front screen is tiny. Even though it measures 4.6 inches, it looks a lot smaller because it is so narrow and it rests in such a big phone.

But if you think of it as a small tablet that bends, all these weaknesses begin to feel less like weaknesses. Instead, it's like having an iPad mini that can be tidied up to become more convenient. I say "more pocket" intentionally. It's big enough to keep it out of the pockets of the deepest pants. This is a device designed for a purse or coat pocket.

The mechanism of the hinge is also very solid. It ends with a satisfaction notch and there is a momentum when you open it. There are magnets that hold it firmly closed and, as far as I can, I have not been able to open it with one hand. But I managed to hold it with one hand, even open. It really looks like an ultra-compact tablet, which is not a form factor I was hoping for, but it seems to me more useful longer.

This brings me back to this screen: it measures 7.3 inches in a size of about 4: 3. It gets very shiny and you can use it completely flat or with the half fold kind open like a paperback. As I said above, you can see the crease from an angle, but it usually disappears when you look at it from the front. You can also feel the fold, which is a little disconcerting. But you're in trouble. (The photo above makes it seem a lot worse than in person.)

There is also this notch in the upper right corner, which houses the two cameras and various proximity and light sensors that any phone needs. This cut is sometimes embarrassing. YouTube, for example, has been cut for full-screen video. I am sure that some software adjustments will eventually help to solve this problem. Samsung also had to do some extra work to make the screen flexible, which you may not have thought of. For example, the adhesive that keeps the different layers of screen together must be completely redone.

In terms of software, things are going in a range that I would call "surprisingly acceptable". This is a low praise for any software, but here I do not say it as a damnation. Historically, Android has always been horrible on tablets, but the Fold's screen is small enough to make no big difference. There is an "application continuity", Samsung's branding for a Google Android feature that allows the app you are watching on the smaller screen before automatically opening up inside, properly resized.

Resizing apps properly is a bugbear for Android forever, but Samsung and Google have worked together to solve this problem in many applications. A side effect of this work is that Samsung is able to allow you to create applications on two or three mosaics on multiple screens. You slide your finger from the right edge of the screen to access a dock of recently used apps, and tap one of them to open it in a shared view. Then you can do it again to open a third, which is divided right.

Active windows are indicated by small diamond-shaped bars at the top of each application. You can also tap to drag applications to different positions or to open more windowed options. You can open literal windows if you really want, by dragging them on the screen and resizing them.

All this should be familiar to Samsung fans, as these features are based on much of the popover and work windows that the company has introduced with its One UI software. But for everyone, it could be a little confusing. Finally, it is undeniable that Android applications are not as powerful as iPad applications on large screens. But, again, it's not so shocking since this screen is a bit smaller.

And if you are a fan of Samsung, you may be interested to learn that the fingerprint sensor button is also the Bixby button. You will find above the traditional power and volume buttons. It does not matter, but I'm so used to the concept of a fingerprint detection button that is also the power button that triggered me a bit.

In terms of specifications, the Galaxy Fold is very similar to a Galaxy S10 Plus. It has the same Snapdragon 855 processor, 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. The cameras look like the ones you find on this phone, but they are more numerous. The battery measures 4,380 mAh, with cells on both sides of the fold. No one can say if that would be enough for Samsung for a full day of use on a screen of this size. The S10 technology on which it is based has performed fairly well in terms of battery life. There is reason to be optimistic.

At the rear you will find a set of three cameras: a standard, a telephoto and a wide angle. When the phone is closed, a single 10-megapixel lens faces the front. When you open it in tablet mode, a giant notch houses another camera and an RGB depth sensor camera.

Technically, there are six cameras, which is probably too many cameras. I would have preferred this if Samsung had chosen to place only one small webcam inside for tablet mode and to place both cameras on the outside, if only because it would reduce the size of the notch.

I entered the New York hotel where Samsung exhibited the Fold, assuming I would find something just ready to ship. After all, Samsung has not allowed anyone from outside the company to touch it in the last two months of hype.

Yes, the software has roughness and the folding screen is not as good as other screens in this price category. There are still many reasons to turn a blind eye to the Galaxy Fold, especially at a price of $ 1,980.