Are you ready for the future of smartphone technology? Good, because Samsung gave us a glimpse of what to expect with the recent announcement of its new Galaxy Fold phone.
During the Unpacked event that saw Samsung release the S10, S10+ and S10e, the world was also treated to a folding handset that could shape how our smartphones look in the next few years.
Every company is looking for a fresh hook to entice new customers, and a folding phone that can double as a tablet looks to be the focus.
Packed full of pretty impressive features, the Galaxy Fold looks great, but it doesn't come cheap. Check out the specs and prices below.
Samsung Galaxy Fold: What is it?
Nominative determinism at its best – the Galaxy Fold is literally a folding Galaxy phone. And it looks pretty good.
It's been interesting to see which phone company would bring the new tech to market first, and the Fold looks like a futuristic and smart first attempt by Samsung. It's a tall, thin mobile phone that folds outwards to transform into a 7.3" mini-tablet.
The glory in this is that Samsung has developed app continuity, meaning whatever you were doing on the phone screen will already be running and ready to open on the bigger screen, and vice versa.
And that transition between screens is smooth, as was shown during the tech demo at the Unpacked event.
Using Google Maps on the small phone screen and need to see what else is around you? Unfold the Fold and you can see Maps on a much bigger screen, giving you a more complete view of where you are and what's around you.
While this may sound like a gimmick, to us, that seems like an incredibly helpful and super cool tool that we haven't seen in phones before.
Many apps will be able to work with this feature, so you can trade between big and little screens while browsing, depending on your need.
The larger screen also has the ability to use three apps at once.
The fold in the phone essentially splits the tablet screen into two smaller halves. This allows you to have one app running on one side, while two smaller apps run on the other.
The example offered at the event showed the user watching a YouTube video of some surfers in Hawaii on one side of the screen, while researching flights to Hawaii in Google Chrome on the bottom left of the screen, and then messaging their friend on text in the top left.
Multitasking is the demand of many phone users today, and this new feature seemed to please fans on social media.
Samsung Galaxy Fold: How much is it and where can I pre-order?
The price is going to sting a little. Are you sitting down?
Samsung announced during the event that it will cost $1,980 (£1,515). This makes the Fold more than double the price of the Galaxy S10 phone, which was released at the same time.
£1,500 for a smartphone is truly staggering, but Samsung is aiming for the premium market who are looking for something special and different.
The 4G version of the Fold is available on April 26, but you can pre-register your interest right now on the Samsung website. It will then hit UK shelves on May 3.
If you pre-order before April 26, you can claim back a free pair of Galaxy Buds, which is a nice bonus.
However, Samsung is also pushing the envelope of future tech, as it's promised that a 5G version of the Fold will be available some time soon, though this will almost certainly push the price over £2,000.
Samsung Galaxy Fold specs: How powerful is it?
The Fold is described as a "luxury" phone – and Samsung isn't wrong. This phone has an impressive spec under the hood.
The Galaxy Fold has a monumental 12GB RAM inside, as well as a 64-bit 8-core processor that has remained unnamed. For context, that is a massive amount of memory for a phone, and most low-to-mid-range laptops won't have that kind of capacity, so expect the Fold to be super speedy.
Alongside that, the handset has two batteries. Yep. Two. One for each side of the screen.
The hinge, which allows for the folding mechanic, is a complicated spine of interlocking gears, but weaved between the locks is a new piece of tech that allows two batteries to power the phone, pumping out a whopping 4,380mAh battery.
There will also be no fewer than six cameras for you happy snappers out there.
On the back of the Fold, you will get a 16MP f2.2 Ultra-wide lens, a 12MP telephoto lens, and a 12MP wide-angle.
On the inside of the fold, you will get a 10MP f2.2 lens and an 8MP f1.9 RGB depth lens, and finally, on the front of the phone you get a 10MP lens.
If you want to be the first to get your hands on the future of smartphones, you can fill out this form to pre-register interest here.