Check out the pictures in the article. They're really amazing! Although not perfect, keep in mind they were taken with a smartphone. My phone takes terrible pictures of the sky.
Smartphone innovation has been stagnant in the past few years. The processing power department has even seen the lower to mid-range segments close the gap with the high-end chipsets. This has resulted in a decline in sales volume of flagship devices even for the biggest manufacturers. Sure, there’s an ongoing battle against bezels which the flagships are winning but there isn’t a lot of functional improvements to handsets to merit an upgrade each year. The flagship segment, therefore, has taken a particularly heavy hit in this downward trend. Why buy a new top-of-the-line model when a cheaper or even an older smartphone can do almost everything you’d want?
Everyone in the industry, therefore, is desperately hard at work at reinventing the smartphone. Currently, they’re taking a cue from the laptop industry by focusing on multifunctionality. Specifically, Samsung and Huawei are taking the 2-in-1 route. Rumour has it that even Apple is developing a 2-in-1 device as well.
In this spirit, recently made a huge splash with their release of the Galaxy Fold. It’s essentially a 2-in-1 device that functions both as a smartphone and a tablet. It’s become the new phablet in a world where 6.0-inch screens have become the definition of a regular-sized smartphone.
But, as it is in the 2-in-1 laptop segment, it’s bound to compromise one or both aspects of what they’re trying to be. The most important 2-in-1 PC in the Surface Pro 6, for example, is a much better laptop than it is a tablet. The Galaxy Fold will probably make a similar compromise between a smartphone and a tablet. Which way it leans is something that we’d just have to figure out as we go along.
Build Quality
As you’d expect from a Samsung flagship, build quality is top notch here. The magnets and the hinges all feel durable. Being a foldable device however, there are some compromises to the build that could lead one to an opinion that it’s not a market-ready device.
In its folded orientation, there is a small Gorilla glass covered 4.6-inch display. By today’s standard, this is already considered a tiny screen. It is, therefore, best suited for interacting with notifications, changing music, and checking out what time it is.
Another thing to remember when in this orientation is that it’s twice the thickness of a regular flagship device. It’s a bit of a chunky 4.6-inch phone this way.
Unfolding the device is where most of its wow-factor is anchored. There’s something novel in seeing the screen for the first time. In this form-factor, it becomes a behemoth of a smartphone with 7.3-inches of screen. In this format, it feels closer to an iPad Mini than any other smartphone.
Screen
It’s difficult not to focus on the screen tech in any review of the Galaxy Fold. They’re calling it the Infinity Flex and it’s definitely something fresh and innovative.
It should be noted, though that there’s a visible crease where the screen unfolds. It’s a necessary evil that Samsung made sure to hide behind the lushness of the display itself. The absolutely brilliant screen more than makes up for it because it becomes virtually unnoticeable when you’re consuming content. It’s only on white backgrounds that the crease becomes visible and even then, it’s easy to ignore it much like the notch on the iPhone X.
Despite the plastic outer cover, the display is just as vivid and crisp as the best of them. This is because, underneath the plastic, there’s a class-leading Super AMOLED Display. It’s the same one found on the heralded screens of the Galaxy S10 line.
While the main screen is generally great, there are some compromises that had to be taken in order to achieve foldability. The most prominent of which is the use of plastic instead of glass. Another less noticeable compromise is the gap between the body and screen where it folds. This makes it a bit of dust magnet. You’ll surely have a couple of annoying dust particle in the screen within a few days of use outdoors. The third, most annoying screen quirk is the asymmetrical notch on the main foldable screen. It’s located on the top right corner which diminishes the viewing experience a little bit as it covers some of the content.
Specs
When it comes to power, the Galaxy Fold through and through a flagship-level device. It comes equipped with the latest Snapdragon 855 which is both more powerful and more efficient than the previous generation. It’s also coupled with a whopping 12Gb of RAM and 512Gb of storage. What this means is that you’ll be able to run just about anything on the Google Play Store without any performance problems.
The bigger size footprint also allows it to sport a 4,380 mAh which is one of the best in the smartphone market. It should also be easy enough to charge it because it has Quickcharge 2.0 and wireless charging capabilities.
Camera-wise, you can expect top-tier Samsung experience here. It’s got a total of 6 cameras – a mix of TOF sensors, telephoto lenses, and wide-angles similar to the S10+ configuration. The extra sensors are located on the main screen selfie shooters.
User Experience
It supports Samsung’s One UI which is a huge improvement on TouchWiz. It’s fully compatible in the recently released S10 devices. Those smartphones show what One UI is really all about.
It's a different story with the Galaxy Fold though. Both the UI and the Galaxy Fold are new to the smartphone world, so they’re not fully fleshed out yet; especially with each other. Suffice it to say that they’re still not in perfect sync yet. Some apps might not work with the full-screen mode on the foldable device.
Despite this incongruence, however, the device is still surprisingly usable. For the apps that do work with the full-screen mode, it works magically well. You can be more productive with some apps, for example, because the large screen shows a lot more information than the normal smartphone display. Specifically, Gmail shows three columns of emails.
The bigger screen also benefits content consumption and gaming as it makes the experience more immersive. Controls for games become much easier on a bigger screen. It’s important to take note of the notch though.
Is It Recommendable?
Overall, it’s a bold move for Samsung to release this device so early. Sure, there are still quirks and imperfections but those are arguably expected from such a fresh and innovative device. It’s definitely a risk which, at least right now, is not yet paying off. Currently, the smartphone’s release date has been moved due to display problems with early review units given to YouTube influencers.
For truly loaded smartphone enthusiasts, this is something that you can't let pass you by. For others who are just looking for the top-of-the-line performance, it's still a bit of a proof of concept than a finished product to use as your daily driver.
Despite its ongoing legal tensions in the United States, Huawei is continuing to gain users. The brand has already topped one of its smartphone rivals, Apple, and is steadily gaining on another, Samsung. Maybe this will push the other brands to innovate.
Since the Pixel's sales have been so disappointing, I think it's a smart move to focus on promoting the cheaper alternative. While it may seem risky to take a step back from pushing the "premium" device, it won't do them any good if no one purchases it. Consumers will always appreciate a decent mid-range model that they didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for.
The newest iPhone looks as sharp as ever. The triple lens camera looks really sleek as well. While the camera isn't a confirmed feature, it's probably a pretty safe bet that the device will have it.
The article makes the point that with the increased screen real estate, users will want a pen to use the screen to its full potential. The only problem is, the screen is so fragile that a pen would increase the likelihood of something happening to the screen.
Google Pixel smartphones are, no doubt, high-end handsets. The Pixel 3 XL has models that break the 1,000$ price ceiling that’s reserved for the very best that high-end manufacturers like Apple and Samsung have on offer. However, aside from a small niche market, these phones never really contended with the top dogs like Samsung and Apple.
It’s about to become bleaker for the current generation of Pixels. For years now, people have been speculating that the age of high-end smartphones is over. Recently, reports have surfaced to support this claim. International Data Corporation just announced that most smartphone manufacturers had a dismal Q1 for 2019. Apple suffers significant YOY numbers as they drop 30%. Samsung, on the other hand, also dropped but with a smaller 8.1%. Nevertheless, it’s one of the longest and biggest losing streaks that these manufacturers have experienced in years. These two are suffering from a high-end smartphone death which analysts blame on a combination of lack of innovation and a
To put things in proper context for Google Pixels, they’re not even included in the list. They’re categorized with “others” that IDC says suffered a 21.5% drop. Google’s best effort at smartphone manufacturing, it seems, is in relative obscurity volume-wise.
It’s mid to low range smartphone makers such as Vivo who made a significant leap of 24% YOY upgrade. These numbers show the current trend on the demand side that yearns for less expensive yet decent performing smartphones.
This unpopularity is a shame because it’s a great value phone. It boasts top-of-the-line specs on par with other flagships, theoretically better overall performance because of vanilla Android, and a class-leading camera performance that puts some of the more expensive devices to shame. It’s gained a faithful, albeit relatively small, following for these reasons.
But recently, the rumour mills have become abuzz with speculation that Google is releasing mid-range Pixel devices soon. I’ve compiled everything here:
Mid-range Internals
If the new Pixel devices are going to be truly mid-range and not some inbetweener like the Pocophone, the processing power is almost surely going to be the first thing to take a hit. Current mid-rangers such as the Mi A2, rock the Snapdragon 670. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the new mid-range Pixels get released with the same chipset. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This should be true for the smaller Pixel 3a while the Pixel 3a XL should have slightly improved Snapdragon 710.
Although, it would also be a welcome surprise if it goes the Pocophone way. This means that yesteryear’s top-of-the-line chips on today’s mid-range phones suggesting that it can also come equipped with 835 or maybe even 845 from Snapdragon.
Rumours have it that another point of compromise is going to be the storage. Today’s standards have risen to a point where you can no longer find smartphones with just 16GB of storage and 64GB is considered just enough. Pundits are saying that the Pixel 3a, in order to cut costs, will have base options of just 32GB. Hopefully, this isn’t the case because the growing use cases for smartphones have grown and that the baseline 64GB is already something that most people have adjusted to.
Lastly, a point where it would be difficult to compromise would be the RAM. That’s because for a 2019 smartphone, the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL already have a limited amount of it. At 4GB for the base models, it would be difficult to imagine the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL to have even less than that.
Mixed Bag for Hardware
One place where the current mid-range king in the Pocophone cut costs is the build quality. Instead of what’s currently on trend which is glass, they’re made out of hardened polycarbonate. That’s the fancy term for plastic. It’s expected that the new Pixels cut the same corners. This move alone can help bring its costs down by a lot. So this rumour is likely true if they’re really aiming for the $400 to $500 markers and not just the $750 consolation prices that the iPhone XR and Galaxy S10e, the budget versions of Apple’s and Samsung’s flagships.
Part of the phone that has conflicting reports is the screen. If we are to look at the discussions of past smartphones, it’s without a doubt a contentious subject. The iPhone XR, for example, has been heavily criticized for using LCD instead of the current generation of smartphone screens which are OLED.
Some pundits are claiming that the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL will make this same sacrifice but there are also some that make the claim that they’re going to go the other way and go with OLEDs.
What seems for sure though, is that it’s going to at least a 1080p resolution which is a step up from the controversial iPhone XR’s 800p resolution. So, whether OLED or LCD, you’re at least sure to have at least 440ppi which should be crisp for the rumoured 5.56-inch Pixel 3a and the 6.0-inch XL version.
Class-Leading Camera as Always
More than anything, Google Pixels have always been camera champs since the very first iteration. These new versions should also be the same because it’ll come equipped with the same camera hardware that the current flagship-grade Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are currently sporting. Essentially, you’ll have cameras that you can find on $1,000 phones on these budget models. For a lot of buyers, this should be a compelling feature.
The question, however, is that the camera performance of the current generation Pixels is largely attributed to the software A.I. More than the camera hardware, therefore, the imaging relies a lot on the processing power. It’s interesting to see if the rumoured chipsets such as the Snapdragon 670 for the base Pixel 3a or the Snapdragon 710 for Pixel 3a XL are going to be able to produce similar results with the same hardware.
Exciting Time for Mid-range Smartphones
Whatever the case for the new Pixels, it cannot be denied that these are exciting times for the mid-range segment. Google’s foray into it will be, at least for consumers, a welcome development.
If it all goes according to Google’s plan, the capable chipsets should be enough to tide over moderate users, the build quality should be good enough for most people, and the camera-quality should be more than enough even for even power-users. It should appeal to a wider audience. If that happens, Google shouldn’t have trouble moving these new smartphones.
I've checked around and pre-orders supposedly start at less than $600. That's not bad when you consider the price of other models and that fact that this phone is innovative for once.
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