In defense of the Galaxy Fold
Reviewers just don’t understand Samsung’s masterpiece
I never thought I would see the day where a smartphone release would receive the same amount of controversy as a gangsta rap album in the 90s.
Maybe it does make sense. Tech companies are at their best when they are at their most rebellious.
Samsung’s rebellion against boring phones seems to be a victorious one, despite what the media says.
I spent quite some time listening to reviewers talk about the Galaxy Fold. Some briefly mentioned business users. The problem with YouTubers and tech journalists is they don’t fit in with regular users of technology.
They aren’t the average broke student. They don’t work an office job. They don’t work on a construction site. They don’t travel between client offices. Even though they do high quality creative work, they are different from an agency. Their most involved workloads don’t require workstation level computers.
The Galaxy Fold isn’t even the phone that suits most of those users either. It is too expensive for the average student (the S10e is a better fit). The Note 10 with a nice case and screen protector is much better suited for a construction site. People who do digital drawings or 3D modelling likely wouldn’t be using a smartphone at all for that type of work.
What about the person traveling between client sites? What about the executive or engineer who works in multiple offices?
The Galaxy Fold is actually a great device for them. Possibly even the best device.
Since owning the Fold, I’ve heard the same couple of comments, questions and concerns.
“I thought it was canceled. / I thought they stopped making it.”
No, cancel culture has not caught up with the Galaxy Fold. The review units sent to a select group were called back. There were issues with it and the final version addressed those issues.
The phone has sold fairly well so far. Samsung has not been clear about how well, but it’s sales have not been dead and the Fold is very much alive.
“Why would you get it, it’s so fragile?!”
Years back, I worked in an iPhone repair shop. During the iPhone 4’s heyday, almost daily, customers would come in with a cracked device. The all glass back of the iPhone 4 or its screen would be shattered and need replacement. Someone dropped a Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Nexus and required servicing just as often.
I’ve worked with and owned quite a few fragile phones in my lifetime. I’d argue the Galaxy Fold is more robust. When folded shut, only the front screen is exposed. The inner screen is made of a self-healing plastic that can recover from scratches over time. The overall build quality of the phone is great too. Samsung also includes a case for the Galaxy Fold in the box.
“The crease is so bad!”
Like everyone else, I’ve used a lot of terrible displays on mobile devices. From the Gameboy Color’s tiny LCD that was not back-lit to the ultra low resolution panel of the original iPad, there has been a lot of bad displays in mobile devices.
Reviewers tend to be nit picky and sensationalist. With a phone, complaints about the display tend to matter more to people because they interact with it every day. The iPhone XR caused reviewers relative rage due to its low resolution display. A year later, the iPhone 11 still uses the same display and is selling just fine. Shows you just how much these reviewers know about consumers.
The Fold’s main display is excellent. It’s bright, colors pop, it’s huge. I watched the entire Super Bowl on it. My co-workers wanted to see it in action, so I put on an episode of South Park (totally safe for work) and they were amazed. Not only was it great, the crease vanished when watching full-screen video. The crease really only was visible when viewing the phone from an angle.
The crease is a non-issue during day to day operation. I actually like it for multi-tasking because it lets me know where the halfway point in the display is. This comes in handy for when I want to split the display into halves.
The review units of the Galaxy Fold lacked the T-shaped caps over the part of the display that bends. These caps on the final version help to keep dust and grime out of the phone. Everything sits flush, and the part of the screen that could be peeled on the review units is tucked under the bezel on the production units.
I’m not sure if it’s the AMOLED display’s vibrancy or software calibration, but the display on the Galaxy Fold consistently looks amazing. I genuinely enjoy playing Call of Duty Mobile on it.
The crease is no longer an issue on the Galaxy Fold.
“Who would pay that price for a phone?!”
There are a few answers to this. Tech obsessed idiots like myself. People who love to show off how much they can splash out for the latest gadgets. People who can actually make use of the phone.
The reality is that while $1,980 USD for a phone is a lot of money for the average consumer. The Galaxy Fold was not made for the average consumer.
Consumers have long been price conscious in their laptop purchases. Businesses, however, end up paying sometimes double (or more) the price for similarly configured laptops, compared to what you would pay getting it from Amazon.
Spending $1,980 on a phone is a lot for a consumer. It is a small price for a piece of bleeding edge technology. Even if the 5G version costs a bit more, the Galaxy Fold likely will be the user’s first 5G smartphone. The Fold also replaces the need for something like an iPad mini.
For companies that spend $2,000 on unimpressive laptops they buy through re-sellers, buying a Galaxy Fold at its current price is a non-issue. Especially considering the organization’s most senior employees are the ones to receive devices like this (even if they don’t always put it to good use).
Flexible display aside, the Fold is also a very Flexible device to get work done on. I can have two apps open simultaneously on the main display and a Skype call in a window as an overlay.
This means that I can refer to a document during a conference call, while having Chrome open or another app (emails, cat videos) while I’m on the call.
Suffice to say that such laptop-level flexibility is not available on iOS based phones right now. This is where the Galaxy Fold shines.
Software complimented by hardware is a big theme with the Galaxy Fold. Business features such as Samsung KNOX and Android for Enterprise are critical for IT. Both allow IT administrators to create a separate work space on the phone for work data. This means that IT won’t be able to control your phone, but can protect corporate data on your phone. Many security conscious organizations such as banks and government bodies rely on these features.
KNOX is only available on select Samsung devices, while Android for Enterprise is only available on some Android devices. The Galaxy Fold being compatible with both programs, makes it much more flexible for IT departments to manage.
DeX is another great feature that makes doing from a Galaxy Fold business easier. Many people have to travel between different offices. Setting up “hotelling stations” where roaming employees can pop into an office and plug in their laptop is often a complex and expensive endeavor. DeX solves this issue.
DeX allows a Galaxy Fold (along with other compatible Galaxy devices) to be used as PC replacements. With a simple USB-C to HDMI cable or a DeX docking station (DeX Pad), users can output their phone to a monitor and use it as they would a Chromebook or a Windows laptop. With more workloads going to the browser and companies focusing on their mobile apps, DeX is great for most work. Microsoft apps and Chrome work great through DeX, and Samsung has done a lot of tweaking and optimizations.
DeX is not yet a full desktop replacement. The DeX cable lacks USB ports for wired mice and keyboards. This means carrying around the DeX Pad or Bluetooth enabled accessories. There will still be people who need to use complex Excel macros that require the full desktop version of Microsoft Office.
While better equipped organizations can easily solve this by using remote virtual desktops or remote apps through solutions from Microsoft, Citrix or VMware (many companies do), not all are at this point. Still, DeX is a great feature to have that gives the Galaxy Fold an extra level of robustness.
All things considered, $1,980 might be a steal after all.
“ How usable is that thing with its tiny front screen?”
Really great actually. The front 4.6 inch display is another “nice to have” feature of convenience and not meant for typical use. This may sound strange at first, but considering the Galaxy Flip has a 1.1 inch display, this makes far more sense now. You can run any app on the Galaxy Fold’s front display. When folded, the front display protects the main display and provides a level of redundancy. It allows you to answer phone calls and quickly respond to messages without having to unfold the phone. This comes in handy for when you are standing on public transit or walking in a packed area.
While it is definitely small, the front screen is still quite usable. SwiftKey, as opposed to the default Samsung keyboard, can help to make it even more usable. The reality is that people are not buying the Galaxy Fold for the front display. People are buying fold-able phones for main display. This is why the Galaxy Flip has a tiny display window (like a Fitbit) on the front of the phone for notifications and not a full on display.
Since when did every device have to be for everybody and why does not being for everyone make it a bad phone?
My mom loves the BlackBerry KeyOne to this day. The KeyOne was made for people that either prefer physical keyboards, BlackBerry loyalists, or people using the phone in a company that utilizes BlackBerry’s enterprise management software.
People in the phone’s target demographic actually liked it. Shocker.
Samsung should be commended for what they achieved with the Galaxy Fold. They are the first company to mass release a folding smartphone and one with massive utility. It is also helping to push 5G and other advanced features.
The Galaxy Fold is a masterfully executed smartphone. I am a die hard iPhone user and it effortlessly won me over. Business users will love it too.
It might not be as simple a proposition as an iPhone 11, but for those of us who do actual work on our phones, the Galaxy Fold is exceptional.
