You may have heard of Pablo Escobar, the slain drug lord and leader of the Medellin cartel, who is said to have been one of the wealthiest gangsters that ever lived. He may have been the reason behind Narcos and many Hollywood flicks, but he's also the inspiration behind the Escobar Fold 2 – a foldable smartphone that seems too good to be true, because it looks like a rebranded Samsung Galaxy Fold and costs just $399.
Famous Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee aka MKBHD made a video recently revealing 'The Truth of About the Escobar Folding Phone.' The phone gets its name from Escobar, which is quite obvious, and the company behind the phone is called the Escobar Inc., which is run by the Escobar family and it's CEO is Pablo Escobar's elder brother and "chief of assassinations" Roberto Escobar Gaviria.
Galaxy Fold in different clothes?
But, apart from all that, the phone looks identical to the Samsung Galaxy Fold which costs $1,800. It doesn't just look like the Galaxy Fold, it is the Galaxy Fold but with a golden tin foil glued to the exterior, as discovered by MKBHD in his YouTube video.
Although it is quite obvious from the display that it has something to do with the Galaxy Fold, peeling off the tacky stickers reveals the Samsung branding and it becomes certain that it is the Galaxy Fold.
Delayed delivery
The Escobar Fold 2 arrived at MKBHD's doorstep a lot later than he had anticipated. He had originally placed the order for the Escobar Fold which cost $349 in December last year, but since the order status never changed beyond 'processing', he never expected the phone to arrive. Marques even advised people not to waste their money, warning them about the company they are dealing with.
However, in March, he got a mail from one of Escobar Inc's employees, saying that the Escobar Fold is out of stock and his order has been upgraded to the Escobar Fold 2 which arrived at his doorstep, complete with a different Escobar packaging, golden skin and some mugshot wallpapers of Pablo Escobar himself.
How can Escobar Inc sell a $1,800 phone for just $399?
The curious MKBHD unboxed the phone and peeled off the golden foil, and now that the truth is out, the question arises how can Escobar Inc., sell a $1,800 foldable smartphone for just $399? Well, before you get your hopes high, consider the fact that not all of the customers who placed orders have actually laid their hands on the phone, so it's still a little sketchy at the moment.
It could be that the company is sending units only to tech YouTubers or people who they think will talk about their phone and Escobar Inc. It's also possible that Roberto Escobar may have struck a deal with Samsung for "defective" Galaxy Folds, most possibly the first few hundred or thousand units that were found to be faulty.
Risky business
Although Escobar Inc. has been trying to market their Escobar Fold in every which way possible – with scantily clad models spread all over the phone's website and its official YouTube channel who are ruthlessly shattering the original Samsung Galaxy Fold, it still is a pretty risky business.
Like MKBHD we advise you to never take chances with your money, and ask yourself who would give you a futuristic phone packed with some of the best specs?
The Escobar Fold 2 isn't the company's first attempt. It had done a similar thing with the first generation Escobar Fold which was essentially a rebranded Royole Flexpai.
