Samsung Galaxy Fold
The Galaxy Fold is a new category device that is both a 4.6-inch smartphone and a 7.3-inch tablet, which uses Samsung’s infinity flex display and can be folded in half to fit into a pocket.
The premium device is powered by 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, with a starting price of a jaw-dropping $1 980.
Samsung has confirmed it will be available in South Africa in May, with pricing to be announced at a later stage.
At the Johannesburg live stream event, media were allowed to view the folding device under strict supervision, after handing in all personal mobile phones; no photography was permitted.
Despite having doubts about a folding screen, I was impressed by how seamless it looked in tablet mode once open.
But as a smartphone it looks like a first-generation product. This brand-new category of device can run three apps simultaneously and, with app continuity, automatically adjusts between phone and tablet modes.
The Galaxy Fold is without a doubt the most exciting thing to happen in the mobile space in years.
The Korean electronics giant has come a long way in South Africa, from the early days when we questioned buying a phone from a company that made kitchen appliances to becoming the number one mobile brand in the country.
Research house World Wide Worx estimates that Samsung holds a 50% market share for high-end smartphones locally, followed by Apple at 25% and Huawei at 15%.
Back in 2010, Samsung first released its series of Android devices under the Galaxy S (Super Smart) brand with a new iteration each year that included the latest chipsets, advanced screens, best cameras and a version of the Android operating system with updates dictated by Google.
Its range of S10 devices will be available in South Africa on Friday, March 8, the day of global availability. Pre-orders are open across all networks and are priced from about R16 000.