Samsung unveils first mainstream folding phone, first 5G handset with Galaxy Fold

Mr Justin Denison, Samsung's SVP of Product Marketing, unveiling the Galaxy Fold foldable smartphone during the media event in San Francisco. ST PHOTO: TREVOR TAN

SAN FRANCISCO - Samsung unveiled its most anticipated smartphone, the Galaxy Fold foldable smartphone, during a Wednesday (Feb 20) media event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.

The Korean electronics giant is the first mainstream smartphone maker to bring a foldable phone to consumers ahead of similar announcements expected by other 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.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is a smartphone with a 4.6-inch (1,960 x 840 pixels) cover display when folded, but unfolds into a 7.3-inch (2,152 x 1,536 pixels) tablet.

The Fold uses a hidden hinge system - multiple interlocking gears - which allows the gadget to change from a phone to a tablet.

When used as a tablet, the device allows for three-app multi-tasking on the same screen.

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

"It (the Galaxy Fold) breaks new ground because it answers the sceptics who said that innovation of smartphones is over," said Mr DJ Koh, Samsung IT and Mobile CEO, during the presentation.

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

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Available in LTE and 5G models, the Galaxy Fold will be available in the United States from April 26 with prices starting at US$1,980 (S$2,675). Singapore availability and pricing are not available at the moment.

The Galaxy Fold is not the first consumer foldable smartphone. The honour goes to the Royole FlexPai 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.

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