If you’ve been waiting to splash your cash on a foldable smartphone, you’ll be pleased to know that the wait for Samsung’s first is almost over.
The so-called Galaxy Flex will go on sale during the first quarter of this year. It will feature the Infinity Flex display that Samsung showcased at a recent developers conference, and it could cost as much as $2,550 in the U.S.
That’s right. $2,550. The iPhone XS Max looks pretty affordable all of a sudden, doesn’t it? But Samsung’s foldable phone isn’t just designed to replace your existing handset; its expandable display means it may well replace your tablet, too.
So, what else can we expect from the device?
Samsung’s ‘Galaxy Flex’ on the way
A recent report from Gizmodo claims Samsung’s first foldable phone will be called the Galaxy Flex, and in the U.K., it will be available only from Samsung and one exclusive carrier: EE. It’s not yet clear what availability will be like in the U.S. at the moment.
A “tipster” who works for Samsung also says the device will cost between £1,500 and £2,000 when purchased SIM-free (without a contract), which is around $1,900 to $2,550 in U.S. dollars. That’s more than double the price of the entry-level iPhone XS.
If you have that kind of money to spare, you’ll be able to buy the Galaxy Flex during the first half of 2019, according to Digital Trends, which had this release date confirmed by Suzanne de Silva, Samsung’s director of product strategy and marketing, at CES in Las Vegas this week.
In addition to a flexible Infinity Flex display, that money will buy you a whopping 6,000mAh battery, and either a Samsung Exynos 9820 or a Snapdragon 855 processor, depending on where you live, the report adds. 5G connectivity could also be baked in.
Will you buy a foldable phone?
Only time will tell whether foldable phones will be useful, or nothing more than an expensive gimmick that dies out quickly.
We use our smartphones for more and more these days, so having the ability to expand the screen when watching movies, browsing the web, or playing games certainly sounds like a neat idea. But who really wants to pay upwards of $2,500 for a phone?
