Samsung reveals new folding stuff for people who like flaunting wads of folding stuff
- Reference: 1598969044
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/09/01/samsung_reveals_new_folding_stuff/
- Source link:
The company's inertia-buster is its new Galaxy Z Fold2, a 5G device that will cost around $1,799 and unashamedly be marketed as a luxury item.
"It really is a status symbol," Samsung staff told The Register at a pre-launch briefing, adding that premium devices of this ilk are what it takes to pry an iPhone from the hands of a monied fanboi.
Samsung has added premium services to the mix to increase the Fold2's allure, in the form of the "Galaxy Z Premier Service" that promises "on-demand concierge support from a dedicated team of product experts" in some markets. Said experts will help owners "discover how to unlock the unique experience the Galaxy Z Fold2 enables".
Samsung has adopted this tactic because it sees certain iPhone customers as so welded to the ecosystem that it needs a device that helps them flaunt their purchase to friends. The novelty of a foldable does the job, The Register was told.
The fact that it's a premium handset with a typical Samsung pedigree doesn't hurt either.
[1]
The Galaxy Z Fold2
Like its predecessor, the Fold2 is in a clamshell form factor. On the front, or outer lid, is a 6.2-inch 2260 x 816 25:9 "Cover screen". Open the clamshell and there's a single 7.6-inch, 22.5:18 and 2208 x 1768 "Main screen". This can operate laid flat or with the hinge at an angle. In the latter mode the device looks like what the [2]Psion Gemini might have grown into with an all-glass interface. It behaves a bit like a micro-lappie too as Samsung devotes half of the screen to controls and the other half to content.
The device is not small, measuring 68.0 x 159.2 x 16.8mm. And it has a lot of cameras to keep track of: the Cover screen and Main screen each have a forward-facing 10MP shooter, while the rear of the machine boasts three 12MP affairs, one each for ultra-wide-angle, wide-angle and telephoto fun.
An eight-core CPU at 3.0GHz beats beneath its glass and metal skin, accompanied by 12GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage.
The machine seemingly packs more sensors than a 1970s Mars lander, namely an accelerometer, barometer, gyro sensor, geomagnetic sensor, hall sensor, proximity sensor, light sensor and a boring old fingerprint reader.
[3]
Meaty paws clutch the Z Fold2
Android 10 does the driving and the device can spit out 4K video if you are gauche enough to connect an HDMI cable.
Samsung gave The Register an Australian base price of AU$2,999, which is actually a little cheaper than rumoured US and UK price tags of $1,799 and £1,799.
The company also upgraded its Galaxy Z Flip with 5G.
Samsung slows smartphone upgrade treadmill with promise to support three Android generations on Galaxies [4]READ MORE
There's more folding stuff coming, with Samsung execs telling The Register that the niche is "here to stay." While they didn't say if new products are in the pipeline, Samsung's research was said to reveal that folk lucky enough to possess a PC, foldable, and tablet spend less time using the latter machine. Foldables could therefore be Samsung's way of swiping at both the iPhone and iPad.
One small wrinkle: the lowest-end iPad offers exceptional performance for about a sixth the price of the Fold2.
Your humble hack played with the original Fold in a Samsung store and found it bulky and odd. Samsung didn't offer any hands-on time with the Fold2, despite having defied the pandemic to do so for the Galaxy Note20. Here's hoping The Register is allowed to get its claws on the new machine one day. ®
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[1] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/09/01/pr_supplied_samsung_galaxy_z_fold2.jpg
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2018/04/11/life_with_gemini/
[3] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/09/01/pr_supplied_samsung_galaxy_z_fold2_held.jpg
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/18/samsung_slows_smartphone_upgrade_treadmill/
[5] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: I will buy one when it can also
I played with one in the Samsung store, check out the case, it covers 1/4 the body, the right hand side rear, the one and only part that isn't a delicate screen waiting to be smashed is the part it protects.
You can't carry it in your pocket because it is too big and will break, and you can't put it in your bag with your keys and coins and cards because the case won't protect it, and coins lint and sand will get into it.
It's nice to 'open' and pose, but once its open it looks like a small cheap thick Chinese tablet, so you'd have to keep opening it and closing it in your fancy restaurant hoping people will notice its a foldable, and be impressed.
I've ordered a Tab s7+ tablet, you'd think the salesman would be keen to let me play with their zfold2 phone, given I just bought their most expensive tablet with accessories, yet he was very reluctant when I started even opening it and trying to see if it would fit in a jacket pocket... I think his face tells me all I need to know.
I think if I need to impress, I'll whip out my 12.4 inches, and start doing air gestures with my pointer. "It has enough energy to go for 12 hours!" I'll say out loud. Man will I look cool! Only problem is, it's rigid all the time and I can't fit it in my pants, but that's normal for me. "Does this tablet come in blue?"
Re: I will buy one when it can also
"I played with one in the Samsung store, .... bla bla"
Don't lie, you AC. It's just announced. You "might" have fondled with its predecessor, but I doubt even that now.
Re: I will buy one when it can also
When it can defend me against the Evil LawnGnomes & their pointy hats of doom!
*Notices a hoarde of them sneaking up through the grass*
AIEEE! Run away! Run away!
...
Dried frog pills. It's what's for breakfast.
Extortionate pricing
Ridiculous price. I could get an Apple monitor stand and a set of Mac Pro wheels for that much money!
Re: Extortionate pricing
Fancy a race then?
What price would you put in being able to read the screen without glasses?
Stick adverts in places where mostly older people gather - bingo, Facebook etc...) and Samsung'll see these things fly of the shelves.
Good point
I will add 'double as a glasses case' to my requirements
Re: Good point
Stick a sheet of clingfilm inside your specs case and you are sorted..... Noone can see what you are doing at range anyway.... Snaps closed with a reassuring thwauup....
Ooh look!
It's two phones stuck together! Just what I always wanted... er...
Re: Ooh look!
The Microsoft thingie is 2 phones stuck together. This is 2 phones that have conjoined. The only question is, when they reproduce, will Samsung bill you £1700 for each of their spawn
Pricing
Apple seemed to do well enough when they put the price up to > $ 1000 for their phones and for some people the price is what makes it a status symbol. I would the market for these devices would skew very much to Asia where mobile devices are used for more services than in the West. And also, outside Japan, where Apple has less cachet. Certainly Samsung thinks so to have adopted a yearly release schedule. It would not surprise me to see them do even bigger ones if they think they have the material problems solved / can live with the lower yields, because the next iteration is the notebook killer.
I have a Planet Gemini so I understand the appeal of a device that can replace a tablet at times, though admittedly it was the keyboard that I thought would be most useful. Unfortunately, Planet have dropped the ball on QA and after sales: I've had to replace the keys twice and it's only had two firmware updates, which haven't resolved all the problems. So, while I had it with me on my last holiday, I found I actually used my S10e with a cheap external keyboard instead, not perfect but certainly usable.
Ludicrous
Phones started off massive, but computers were even more massive back then. Then everything got smaller, then computers kept getting smaller while phones started getting bigger again.
I'm not really sure what the difference is between this and a macBook Air in terms of how useful it is as a telephone.
I will buy one when it can also
Toast very small sandwiches
Press trousers for pixies
Act as a robotic PacMan toy
Punch holes in A4 paper
Crimp the edges of Cornish pasties