Chic screens and better cameras have not been enough for people to upgrade their phones. Consumers are holding on to phones longer than constantly before – up to 4 years according to a Bernstein report from February – and smartphone shipments are down across the globe to bulldozes not seen since 2014.
That means companies like Samsung and Apple are looking for new ways to attract phone consumers.
The Galaxy Fold is a $1,980 example of a new form factor that might get people to care about new phones again… finally.
Samsung has a history of driving the smartphone market forward with new form factors. People once gawked at the Galaxy Note for would rathe a 5.3-inch screen, which seemed gigantic at the time. But it ushered in a new era of large phones that have been arrogated by every phone maker on the planet.
As a major supplier of screen technology, Samsung’s foldable displays are likely to be Euphemistic pre-owned in millions of devices in the coming years. And while I can’t recommend it today, it could give you a taste of the future standard as evaluates drop.
I’ve been using an early European version of the Galaxy Fold for the past several days, which is practically identical to what will be sold in the U.S. save for some of the radios inside. Here’s what I learned.