Galaxy Fold finally goes on sale in Singapore, Improved device costs S$400 more

Galaxy brand smartphone maker Samsung Electronics has finally announced the date of availability of its upcoming flagship brand Galaxy Fold as Sept 18 and the phone is priced at $3,088. The five-month delay has raised concerns over its foldable features but now the Korean phone maker said the device is ready for sales after thorough tests cleared it.

Besides Singapore, the Galaxy Fold will be sold only in France, Germany, United States and Britain. Though the device was originally slated for release on April 26, some adverse reviews such as broken and bulging screens in some test samples have delayed the sale. However, the company says that it's up for grab now.

"The category-defining Galaxy Fold is a device that defies the barriers of traditional smartphone design. Now, we're excited to release this pioneering mobile technology, and allow consumers to experience it for themselves," said D.J. Koh, chief executive of Samsung mobile phones division.

The mobile phone will be available in black and silver colours respectively from Sept 18 and Sept 21. It will be available in 4G long term evolution (LTE) variant that is being sold in Singapore and the 5G model will only be available in South Korea from Friday.

Samsung said the design has been tweaked following the reviews of the Galaxy Fold by extending the top protective layer that is peeled off by some reviewers in the test model. Now the layer cannot be tampered with, while other improvements include better protection from external particles and reduction of space between the hinge and the Fold's body.

Originally, the Galaxy Fold was priced at US$1,980 (S$2,685) but the improvements made Samsung increase the price. Now, it's being made available for S$3,088, almost S$400 more.

Fold features

The main challenge for Samsung was to become the first major smartphone maker to launch the foldable phone, which has a primary 7.3-inch screen, and a second 4.6-inch cover display that is meant for use when the phone is folded.

Fold's hinge has multiple interlocking gears to switch from a regular smartphone to a tablet, where a provision for using three apps at the same time is the highlight.

When closed, you can shoot a quick video, and then open it watch it on a larger screen with App Continuity. The video transitions from the cover display to the main display.

With Multi-Active Window, you can run multiple apps at once in real-time and do multitasking such as edit footage, browse through the photo gallery and read emails -- all at the same time.

Since the smartphone maker has learnt the hard lessons about engineering and manufacturing ahead of others, analysts believe that it has an edge over rivals who are also contemplating similar foldable phone.

With a 5G-ready option, Galaxy Fold users can take full advantage of their carriers' fastest speeds as it harnesses the full power of next-generation connectivity for streaming and downloading high-resolution videos and other content, as well as graphics-heavy games, at super-charged speeds. However, 5G is not for sale in Singapore for now. It's being sold in South Korea.

Even Huawei is coming out with its foldable 5G Mate X, which has been postponed from June launch. TechRadar predicts that Huawei's foldable phone will be launched before November 2019.

Galaxy Fold Product Specifications