The Samsung Galaxy Fold is the South Korean smartphone company’s first foldable smartphone and it could finally be launched globally on September 6, on the first day of IFA 2019. The launch date comes via Korean media but should be taken with a grain of salt since Samsung is yet to confirm it. Samsung was previously speculated to launch the handset by the end of September but if the new report is to be believed, the company might have dramatically advanced the scheduled launch. This report also comes at a time when the Samsung India online store has hosted a product webpage for the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which hints at the device’s imminent launch.
The Korean media report also states that the Samsung Galaxy Fold will hit shelves in the US and China in September. About 20,000 to 30,000 units of the handset are expected to be shipped in South Korea. As for the smartphone being listed on the company’s India website, the device’s features and specifications are listed but as expected, there’s no hint at its India pricing. The listing was first spotted by India Today.
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Fold smartphone for the world on February 21 this year and it was set to hit shelves on May 3 in Europe, followed by other regions. However, ṭhe display of Samsung’s foldable smartphone stopped working for some early reviewers, after which the company started investigating the issue and postponed the device’s rollout. In May, a Samsung executive announced that the Galaxy Fold launch won’t be ‘too late’ but refrained from sharing any specifics.
Back in June, the company announced that the issues with the device are now resolved. A report that came out around the same time stated that the company has redesigned the foldable smartphone’s hinge and improved its display. The company’s CEO DJ Koh also said that he is embarrassed over the problems that arose with the Samsung Galaxy Fold and admitted that it was pushed to the market too soon. Since late July, reports of the Samsung Galaxy Fold finally being launched have been making the rounds on the internet.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is equipped with a 7.3-inch Infinity Flex display, which enables the display panel to fold along the hinges. When folded, the Galaxy Fold sports a 4.6-inch HD+ display that has thick bezels. When unfolded, the handset opens up to a QXGA+ resolution panel with 4.2:3 aspect ratio. The device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC in the US and some other regions while it will run on a Samsung Exynos chip, which is most likely the Exynos 9820. The smartphone packs 12GB RAM with 512GB of internal storage and gets a 12MP + 12MP + 16MP triple cameras on the back and a 10MP + 8MP camera setup on the front. It runs on Android 9 Pie and is backed by a 4380mAh battery.
The Galaxy Fold was announced for EUR 2000 in Europe which converts to Rs 1,55,788 approximately in India. It is priced at $1,980 in the US, which is around Rs 1.37 lakh. The handset is relatively expensive and users who pre-ordered the device previously were supposed to get a new free pair of Galaxy Buds, along with a slim kevlar case and a one-year damage cover via Samsung Care+.