Galaxy Fold is Samsung’s highly anticipated next-generation mobile device. Featuring the world’s first 7.3″ Infinity Flex Display for incredible productivity and media experiences, Galaxy Fold folds into a compact device with a cover display for use as a traditional smartphone.
Announced at the Samsung UNPACKED event on February 20th, Galaxy Fold is currently scheduled for a limited release in the USA during the second quarter of 2019 through select carriers.
There hasn’t yet been an official release announcement for other regions. We are however quietly confident that Galaxy Fold will officially reach other markets.
As such, we have opened a sales page to allow you to register for updates. Should we receive word that Galaxy Fold is getting a release in the UK or wider European sales region, we will contact everyone who registers with advice on exactly how and when a purchase can be made.
Samsung Galaxy Fold Key Specifications
Folding clamshell design: internal tablet display and external display for traditional smartphone use
- Android 9 (Pie) with Samsung OneUI
- 7.3 inch 1536 x 2152 Folding Dynamic AMOLED display (16 : 10 ratio)
- 4.6 inch HD+ Super AMOLED cover display (21:9)
- Qualcomm SDM855 Octa-Core processor (1x 2.84 | 3x 2.42 | 4x 1.8 GHz)
- 512GB storage with 12GB RAM
- microSD support (up to 512GB)
- TRIPLE 12+12+16MP main cameras with OIS, dual pixel phase-detection autofocus
- DUAL 10+8MP selfie cameras with autofocus
- 10MP exterior camera on cover display
- 4,380 mAh battery with fast charging and wireless charging (Qi or PMA)
- Bluetooth 5.0 / GPS / Dual-Band Wi-Fi / NFC
- USB Type-C / Dedicated Bixby button
Samsung Galaxy Fold Key Features
This innovative device from Samsung is creating a new category of mobile device. Galaxy Fold delivers a large screen tablet/superphone experience in a form factor that transforms into a compact and portable handset, still capable of performing all the tasks expected of a traditional smartphone.
Developing such a device is the culmination of over 8 years of research and development. Samsung’s first prototype flexible display debuted in 2011. Since then, the display technology has evolved exponentially, along with the materials and engineering required to create a product suitable for the modern consumer technology landscape of 2019.
New Display Materials
The Infinity Flex display doesn’t just bend; it folds. Folding is a motion that involves the entire display surface, rather than having a section that simply bends.
Samsung has invented a new robust polymer layer, as well as creating a display around 50% thinner than found on a typical smartphone. This new composite material not only delivers Galaxy Fold’s flexibility, it also ensures a tough, resilient and long-lasting finish.
New Hinging Mechanism
Galaxy Fold opens and closes smoothly and naturally, just like a book. Whether you move to compact or open states, the result is a perfectly aligned or flat surface with a satisfying click at the apex of the motion.
Achieving this required a novel engineering solution. The sophisticated hinge in the centre of the Galaxy Fold features multiple interlocking gears. This gearing system is hidden inside an enclosure, providing a clean, seamless and sleek silhouette in keeping with the Galaxy range’s minimal design language
New Interactions and Interface
With a completely new form-factor, there is no reference for how to make the interface and user-interaction intuitive. From the placement of physical connectors, buttons and sensors on a device that changes shape, to managing software transition between two completely separate and differently-sized screens, everything about Galaxy Fold is a first.
Even balancing the device in the hand is an interesting challenge, with two separate, yet connected pieces in the chassis. To avoid a final product with a skewed centre of gravity, Samsung has incorporated two batteries – one in either side – and developed a new power-sharing system to keep them charging/discharging in tandem.
Multi-Active Window allows you to run 3 apps simultaneously on the main tablet screen, in a variety of size configurations.
App Continuity is a new system which transitions from the cover screen and main screen, as you open and close Galaxy Fold. The cover screen can run any Android app, such as Maps. When you open the device, the same app will already be loaded exactly where you were – even if you were halfway through typing a message – and scaled into the correct form factor for the larger screen, including any additional app features available at that size.
The App Continuity API is available to developers to impleement. So all major apps can and should support the system correctly.