I remember back in 2014 when Samsung first showed plans for a smartphone that was both a phone and a tablet in one. What intrigued me was the fact that the phone could unfold a second, much bigger screen. I thought this phone was years away from us.
Fast-forward to today, and it is finally here.
The foldable phone phenomenon seems to have begun with two different companies. Samsung's Galaxy fold model will be the first of its kind for the U.S. market, while Huawei's Mate X model will be available in most Asian markets.
This represents a shift in the phone market business. The old trends of massive phone screens have been replaced with having a two-in-one phone/tablet device.
Samsung has been making great strides in the phone market for years now. It is no surprise that they are trying something new and risky. Since they introduced the world to their phablet (phone and tablet) Galaxy Note series, they have established themselves as being unafraid of change. While Samsung phones have not always been perfect (ahem, Galaxy Note 7 exploding batteries), I trust that their foldable phone will start a new era in phone design.
In light of this new phone capability, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has expressed interest in having a foldable iPhone. This new iPhone most likely will not be out for public consumption until a few years from now. Still, seeing the most popular phone manufacturers interested in fold-phone tech shows promise that this design is here to stay.
New technology is never cheap, and these fold phones are no exception to the rule.
The Galaxy Fold is currently on sale for the starting price of $1,980. This is a large sum of money, no matter how you look at it. Personally, I would wait until a couple of versions have come out, which would lower prices for older models. However, for those who always want to be ahead of the pack and get new things right when they come out, this phone is definitely a must buy.
With screens being able to fold and become more compact, more products will be able to fully utilize this useful technology. It would not surprise me to see a big screen television that can fold up to come out in the not-too-distant future. It will be very interesting to see what future tech has in store for us.
