This weekly column will feature the latest topics and trends constantly emerging in a rapidly-growing technical world.
Each week, we will focus on a specific technical topic, with topics covering a wide range of technical issues and the latest technical gadgets.
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The evolution of recent technologies is just incredible. It’s hard to imagine what the next iPhone or Galaxy phone could look like, since the current models are already leading competitors in the Android and iOS worlds.
However, last week, along with the announcement of the latest Galaxy S10 and S10+ models, Samsung announced a game-changing gadget to the entire technology industry: a foldable smart phone.
The Galaxy Fold, a completely foldable smartphone, will become available to consumers April 26 for the hefty price of $1,980. I know exactly what you are thinking, almost $2,000 for a smartphone? Here’s the exact reason as to why the price for the Galaxy Fold, and the other foldable competitors, come with such hefty price tags.
According to theverge.com, the Samsung Galaxy Fold will feature a “7.3-inch Infinity Flex Display that allows the phone itself to have a tablet-sized screen that can be folded to fit into a pocket.” Equipped with both a tablet and phone mode, the Samsung Galaxy Fold will feature a smaller, 4.6-inch HD+ display to be used when the device is in “phone mode.” Additionally, the Samsung Galaxy Fold holds 512 gigabytes of Universal Flash Storage (eUFS), a 7 nanometer octa-core processor and 12 gigabytes of active RAM spacing. Regarding its battery life, Samsung has even amped up this aspect of the device, including two batteries into the Galaxy Fold (one located on both sides of the fold) for a combined 4,380 milliamp Hours (mAh).
Aside from the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Fold, one of its coolest features (in my opinion, of course) is its ability to run up to three apps at once. According to theverge.com, the Galaxy Fold “uses an app continuity system to adjust these apps when you move between tablet and phone modes.” What this means for users is a new and much more efficient way to manage apps like WhatsApp, Microsoft Office and YouTube all at the same time. I wish my current Galaxy S9 could do that!
Naturally, the phone/tablet (whatever you want to call it) still has some kinks to work out. According to theverge.com, “It looks rather smooth in the software right now, but it’s fair to say that the Galaxy Fold looks far better when it’s folded out than being used as a traditional phone.” Additionally, Samsung has not been the only tech giant to create a foldable device of this caliper. Although Samsung is the first company to make foldable smartphones widely available, other companies like Xiaomi, Lenovo and Huawei have also released current plans to follow along this industry-changing route.
Thus, it certainly seems like 2019 will be the year of foldable devices, with bigger displays, larger processing power and a push away from the traditional, handheld phone models. However, the almost $2,000 price tag means that these are devices you certainly do not want to drop!
