Spotted: A Samsung Galaxy Fold
My wife and I celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary last October 1, 2019 in Busan, and she surprised me with a Samsung Galaxy Fold as her gift. I was overwhelmed that she took time and effort to find me a unit since I’ve been reading articles about how hard it was to find a Samsung Galaxy Fold (even in Korea), as it was selling hot both in Korea and the US. And the unit is outrageously expensive compared to others out in the market.
But it has a foldable screen and six cameras and, as my wife said it, “iPhone 11 was just a more expensive version of iPhoneX anyway”.
My first impression of the Samsung Galaxy Fold when I first saw it at the Samsung shop when we picked up my phone, it was really stylish and chic. Not until they handed me the box that I realized how snazzy a phone could be.
For its price, the packaging is really impressive befitting a high-end smartphone. The black box is really classy while the white case that housed the unit — the free Aramid fiber case, the free Samsung Galaxy Buds, charger set, and a Samsung Galaxy Fold Owner’s Card (which was like a Louis Vuitton authenticity card/certificate) completed the first happy shock.
The Card also has a QR code printed on it to be used to get freebees from the Samsung Page. Among the freebees are the Montblanc leather case (which will surely add class to the unit’s elegant look), and some free downloadable themes, wallpapers, icons and AODs skins. Packaging rating: 10/10.
The unit’s front screen is relatively smaller than the usual smartphone screen that we have in the market. This makes it harder for me to use the front screen while typing messages or using apps. Compared to an iPhone or my previous phone which was a Huawei Mate20 the front screen is so small you could barely use both hands to type, and I guess this is one of the significant downsides of the Samsung Galaxy Fold. The small front screen also makes it hard to see photos and other thingsl. However, one can easily get used to it with constant use and by adjusting the settings to make the keyboard keys bigger.
Now unfolding the phone would give you a bigger screen looking like an iPad mini. The phone also uses a split keyboard when it is unfolded which makes typing a lot easier. This is one of the keyboard designs/options which I really appreciated since it makes easier for me to type even with the wider screen. I give the unit’s design an 8/10 rating.
One of my first consideration on changing a phone unit is the ease of transferring my files, data or the transition from one phone to another. However, Samsung made it easier for me to transfer all my files from my Huawei Mate20 to my Samsung Galaxy Fold thru the Smart Switch application (which can be downloaded on your previous phone for free) and the USB adaptor included in the packaging. It only took me exactly an hour and 34 minutes to transfer all my data (including photos, music and in-app files) and all my applications from my old phone to my new Samsung Galaxy Fold. After an hour and a half, it was as if I was still using my old phone as it already have everything that I needed. For the accessibility and transition, I give Samsung Galaxy Fold a 10/10 rating.
One of the amazing functions of the Samsung Galaxy Fold which I really appreciated is the multi tasking capability. It can run up to three applications at the same time and up to five more pop-out application windows, so a total of 8 applications.
I can review excel sheets, use the calculator and reply to a message thru SMS or chat all at the same time. I can also do a video call while reading an email or googling stuff. Now, I don’t have to close an application or shift from one application to another just to review or compare data or reply to a message.
Doing video calls and watching videos on Netflix were also impressive with the massive screen unfolded. With the free Samsung Buds, audio quality is really good, or you can turn on the phone speakers’ Dolby
Atmos option to level up your watching experience.
Another impressive function was the voice command. I used to have an iPhoneX and using Siri isn’t really as reliable as with Samsung’s Bixby. Bixby accurately responds to voice commands such as opening applications, doing web searches, setting phone alarms and even syncing my applications to the Samsung cloud.
A minor minus on the Samsung Galaxy Fold’s functionality is the 160 character limit for sending SMS. It automatically converts SMS to MMS if you go beyond 160. However, it can be easily resolved by installing free messaging application which is available at the Play Store. The only issue about doing this is that you will not be able to use some of the Samsung messaging features like your personalized Avatar and the Samsung Chat. My take on its user-friendliness: 9/10.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold has 2 batteries installed on both sides -- totalling 4,385 mAh power. The phone also allows wireless charging and power sharing which I usually use to charge up my Samsung Buds. Based on my daily usage I can say that the battery life is quite impressive
compared to that of an iPhone.
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