The unveiling of Samsung's Galaxy Fold on Wednesday started an era of foldable and 5G phones.

At a media event held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, Samsung IT and mobile chief executive officer DJ Koh, said: "(The Galaxy Fold) breaks new ground because it answers the sceptics who said that innovation of smartphones is over."

The South Korean electronics giant is the first mainstream smartphone maker to bring a foldable phone to consumers ahead of similar announcements expected by its rivals later this week.

Samsung also announced a 5G version of the handset, the first mainstream 5G smartphone, but details were not immediately available for this variant.

Also, 5G airwaves have not been allocated in many countries, so telcos are still unable to launch commercial 5G services. Even so, many telcos, such as those in Singapore, Britain, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand, are already conducting 5G trials.

The Straits Times understands that Singapore will be among the first in the world to start rolling out commercial 5G services next year. Once launched, users will be able to surf at speeds of up to 100 times faster than on 4G networks.

The increased capacity and speeds offered by 5G networks will also be able to support industrial applications such as the controlling of autonomous vehicles and a thriving ecosystem of smart appliances that require a constant connection.

Samsung's Galaxy Fold will have 4G and 5G models. They will be available in the United States from April 26, with prices starting at US$1,980 (S$2,700).

Details about its Singapore availability and pricing are not available at the moment.

Analysts said that with its hefty price tag, the Galaxy Fold is not a smartphone for the average user.

Mr Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with technology advisory firm Moor Insights and Strategy, said the Fold is a "super premium" niche product.

Mr Frank Gillett, vice-president and principal analyst at research firm Forrester, said: "It will appeal to big spending, status seekers and to a niche of people willing to pay extra for the flexibility of a folding large screen in their pocket."

The Samsung Galaxy Fold has a 4.6-inch cover display when folded, but unfolds into a 7.3-inch tablet. It uses a hidden hinge system - essentially multiple interlocking gears - to control the unfolding.

The device has three cameras on its rear, two cameras at its front and a single cover camera.

The Galaxy Fold features 512GB of Universal Flash Storage 3.0 which is two times faster than conventional flash storage, and 12GB of storage memory.

The Galaxy Fold is not the first consumer foldable smartphone. That honour goes to the Royole FlexPai, which is not a mainstream brand known by most consumers, launched last year.

Huawei and Xiaomi are also expected to unveil their foldable handsets at the end of the month during the Mobile World Congress 2019, the largest annual trade show for the mobile industry held in Barcelona, Spain.

Marketing professional Daniel Lee, 39, hopes that the price will come down. Another item on his wish list: A thinner phone for putting into his pocket.

"The foldable display needs refinement," said Mr Lee.