Samsung's Galaxy Fold is the first foldable luxury phone

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Everyone loves a good comeback story. They give you the sense that no matter how badly you stumble, no matter how far you fall, no matter how much your futuristic smartphone gets hammered in the press, you can always pull yourself back up again. And that's exactly what Samsung is hoping to pull off with its Galaxy Fold, a device with a display that you can fold in half.

The foldable smartphone was initially slated to launch in April, but Samsung pulled the plug on the release when reviewers found their phones' screens were damaged after using them for just a few days.

After reworking parts of the Fold to make them more durable, and less, well, breaky, Samsung is finally releasing the innovative smartphone. Priced at $1,980, the Fold is clearly not for everyone. Still, despite its rocky launch, cancellation, and relaunch, the Fold is a unique marvel of technology that could point the way forward for the stagnating smartphone market.

It folds, it bends!

Samsung's Galaxy Fold is an impressive piece of technology, but too pricey for the average person. (Image: Howley)
Samsung's Galaxy Fold is an impressive piece of technology, but too pricey for the average person. (Image: Dan Howley)

The Fold's biggest selling point is that it's one of the first foldable screen smartphones on the market. (Huawei's Mate X is the other major phone with a folding screen launching this year.)

That Fold's main foldable screen measures 7.3 inches and uses Samsung's Infinity Flex Display technology. That screen looks absolutely gorgeous when watching shows on Netflix, or simply browsing the web.

The Fold's bendable display is too big to use with one hand, so Samsung put a 4.6-inch Super AMOLED screen on the front of the Fold. This is the screen you'll use while walking around during the day, or when you need to do a quick web search and don't want to unfold the phone all the way.

The front screen is also very narrow, making apps look squeezed. Reading text, though, wasn't difficult, and I was able to use Slack, send emails, browse Instagram, and shop on Amazon using the smaller display without issue.

Samsung's App Continuity feature also lets you view apps on the front display, then view them on the larger 7.3-inch foldable panel by just opening up the phone. Everything from Chrome, and YouTube to Netflix works this way, and it's incredibly helpful if you happen to be using an app but need a bit more screen real estate.

Outside of App Continuity, the Fold is an Android-powered Samsung device like the Galaxy S10 or Note10. You get Samsung's take on the Android interface, and various preloaded Samsung and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) apps.

The Galaxy Fold has two different displays, one in the front, and the main foldable screen. (Image: Howley)
The Galaxy Fold has two different displays, one in the front, and the main foldable screen. (Image: Dan Howley)

My review unit was an AT&T (T) version, and as a result had a bundle of AT&T-related bloatware. Unfortunately, Samsung hasn't offered any information about potential offerings from other carriers. There is, however, an unlocked version available for purchase.