Update, Aug. 10, 2020: The Galaxy Z Fold 2 is here. Read our ongoing coverage. Our Galaxy Fold review, originally published Oct. 3, 2019, follows.
It’s unusual for a phone as new as the Galaxy Fold to be so battle-worn. In the course of its short life, the foldable phone went from the pinnacle of hype for our collective mobile future to cautionary tale about companies that rush to sell radical, under-tested technology. (Here’s a brief history of what went wrong with Samsung’s delicate plastic display.)
Read more: Forget the Galaxy Fold: This zigzagging foldable phone from TCL bends into thirds
Now, after testing and using two versions of the Galaxy Fold — the original model and this redesigned version that fixes Samsung’s biggest design flaws — everything wonderful and terrible with the $1,980 (£2,000, AU$2,950) Galaxy Fold is crystal clear.
As a blueprint for how foldable phones could be truly useful, it undeniably succeeds. There’s something physically satisfying about using the Fold, and its 7.3-inch screen is a dream for watching movies, looking at photos and reading anything. Wanting to multitask felt natural, and more than once I used the Fold as a second screen that was easy to fold up and zip into my jacket pocket the moment I was done.
But as big a favor as the Fold does for all foldable-phone kind in proving that yes, we do want to see where foldable phones go, the Fold itself is still lacking when it comes to creature comforts.
The Galaxy Fold has its charms, and also some rough spots.
Angela Lang/CNET
Microsoft has thrown a twist in the middle of this foldable awakening, introducing a surprising double-screen phone of its own. Although we won’t see the Surface Duo for a year, Microsoft’s dual-screen phone throws down the gauntlet against the Galaxy Fold and foldable design in general: Why use such a problematic folding screen when you can just have two displays?