Galaxy Fold ongoing review: 5 things I love and hate about this foldable phone so far - CNET

samsung-galaxy-fold-7 — The Galaxy Fold.
Angela Lang/CNET

When it comes to the Galaxy Fold, what's old is new. This is Samsung's revised design to a phone that never officially launched to begin with, yet one that Samsung will have delayed for 154 days before the foldable phone goes on sale Sept. 27. Even though it's been nearly five months since the last time I used a Fold in day-to-day life, it felt immediately familiar. Everything I liked in my original review came rushing back. Unfortunately, so did some of the annoyances.

That's because Samsung's do-over fixed the weaknesses that caused early Galaxy Fold screens to malfunction. It didn't overhaul the Fold's entire design.

These are crucial fixes that shore up weaknesses -- keeping out dust, debris and particles from gumming up the inner workings of the Fold's screen, and hiding the corners of a protective layer so you can't pry it off. This time around, there's also much clearer communication about what you shouldn't do and what could break the Fold, like applying "excessive" pressure to the 7.3-inch plastic screen.

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Some of the phone's other quirks, from an extended screen notch to the 4.6-inch external screen that's uncomfortably small to type on, remain the same. In other areas, the improvements have really helped in small but significant ways.

Any way you look at it, the Galaxy Fold is a unique phone. As the first foldable phone to go on sale from any major brand, it sets the pace for what the future of phones could become. They might not all look like the Fold. (In fact, it's a good bet that Samsung's suffered enough growing pains from this experience to come out with a completely different look for future foldable devices.) But if enough phone-makers follow Samsung's lead, there could be a lot more phones that open into tablets, or at least into larger-screen phones.

These are my ongoing impressions of life with the new Galaxy Fold. Check back, since I'll keep updating this as I go on the path to my rated review.

Love: The Galaxy Fold's 7.3-inch screen size

To Samsung, the Galaxy Fold's 7.3-inch screen is the main screen. This is the large display you access when you open the phone from its folded-up position. Samsung expects you to do most of your typing, viewing and living on this display. It also happens to be the problematic plastic screen you have to baby, because plastic is much more fragile than glass.

Typing isn't as easy as it is on even extra-large phones like the Galaxy Note 10 Plus (the Fold's heft makes it heavier to hold, too), but it's great having so much screen to do... anything.

I haven't had many chances yet to dig back into multitasking, so stay tuned to see where that falls.

Hate: That inch-long notch

I had forgotten how much space the Fold's camera notch really takes up. It's a big chunk of the right part of the interior display, and it's really unsightly. It's as though someone took a big bite out of whatever it is you're looking at.

Thankfully, the notch is off to the edge, so it won't swallow up the action of a video or cut off a website, because the app's border stops before you get to the notch. But when the screen is lit up, it does stick out like a sore thumb -- it's almost that large.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that the notch is hardly functional. It houses some sensors, including two front-facing cameras, but when you look at them in the light, you'll find there's a lot of dead space. I'd expect Samsung to slow-walk away from this design in its future foldable phones.

samsung-galaxy-fold-11 — The Galaxy Fold's wide notch houses a whole lot of nothing.
Angela Lang/CNET

Love: The end caps on the screen

It's a small thing, these plastic bits that remind me of the T-shaped peg in Tetris, but they're effective and, compared to the first Galaxy Fold unit I used, they just seem to complete the look. Like they belonged there the whole time.

So far, they also seem effective. I've gently probed the opening with a fingernail. While I can slip a nail between the plastic bezel and the screen, this end cap has seemed to close a gap that existed in Samsung's previous design. Here's hoping it holds.

samsung-galaxy-fold-update-uk-2019-41 — This 4.6-inch exterior screen is good for viewing, less good for typing.
Andrew Hoyle/CNET

Hate: The too-small exterior screen

It didn't take long for me to remember that typing on the Galaxy Fold's 4.6-inch exterior display (the one that's actually topped with Gorilla Glass) is a challenge. Walking, it's almost impossible.

Blame Samsung's other extra-large screen phones if you like, but my fingers have completely fallen out of the habit of precision typing. Working the display feels more like hunting and pecking. It's a useful screen to have -- so you can use the Fold when the screen is closed -- but the more passive viewing, the better.

It's a very good thing you can start on this small display and continue what you're doing on the larger screen, once you open the Fold.

samsung-galaxy-fold-ifa-2019-product-photos-12 — Clack! The Galaxy Fold closes with a satisfying *snick*. Just keep those magnets away from your credit cards.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Love: The way the Fold snaps shut

There's something about this new Samsung design that seems to have changed the way that the Fold feels when it closes. Or at least the way I remember the Fold feeling. Without having old and new models side by side, it's hard to know for sure. My overall impression, though, is that the Fold's magnetic closure feels sturdier when you close it.

It's hard to overstate the importance of physicality when it comes to the Fold. I've said since the very first that this is one of those gotta-do-it-to-believe-it moments that makes the concept of a foldable phone so compelling. People love tactile things, and phones have become the opposite.

Opening and closing the device feels like a return to more interesting phone days when devices had lots of buttons and keyboards that sometimes swiveled out.