The company also added layers of metal under the display to strengthen its protection and hopefully make it so that you wouldn’t be able to feel machinery beneath the screen when you poke at it. Certainly, during our hands-on, the Fold seemed sturdier than before. It felt less like a prototype and more like a finished product ready for store shelves, and opening and closing the hinge still felt as satisfying as before. If anything, the reinforcements and a more-resounding “thunk” when the Fold locked into place made the opening and closing experience feel even more rewarding.
With the updates, the Fold also locks into place more rigidly than before, and it’s almost completely 180-degrees flat when open. This stronger lock also makes the device less floppy when you’re holding the open phone with one hand.
In addition to these structural improvements, Samsung also managed to reduce the gap between the Fold’s hinge and body so it isn’t as thick when closed as it was before. There still is a gap there, and it’s still a noticeable size, but at least there’s been some progress in minimizing it. Speaking of flaws that are still there, the Fold’s display still has a prominent crease running down the middle. But like we said when we first checked out the foldable, this is easy enough to ignore.
Beyond those hardware changes, nothing else is new on the Galaxy Fold. It still features the same continuity software that lets apps extend automatically to make full use of the 7.3-inch screen when you unfold the phone. The outside display is still the same tiny 4.6-inch panel as before, which feels as antiquated as always. Samsung said nothing else has changed, which means presumably the screen resolutions, battery size and camera setup are the same too.
The Fold will be available in Korea starting tomorrow for 2,398,000 Won, and will arrive in Germany, the UK and Singapore on Sept. 17th. 5G versions will be available in select markets, including Korea. As for those of us stateside eagerly awaiting the Fold’s arrival, Samsung said it will hit the US “in the coming weeks.”
Catch up on all the latest news from IFA 2019 here!
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