Samsung has been very light on the details about the Galaxy Fold so far. It only confirmed some of the specs at the launch event on February 20 apart from revealing when it will arrive and for how much.
It has now provided additional information about how the device is going to be sold and the premium aftercare that customers will receive. The Galaxy Fold will go on sale on April 26. It's going to cost $1,980 and this new information helps put that price tag into context.
I wrote yesterday that Samsung allowed us to see the Galaxy Fold from a distance at its MWC 2019 booth but didn't allow members of the press to go hands-on with the device. Hopefully, that's going to change in early April.
Galaxy Fold will receive intensive aftercare from Samsung
Samsung UK's director of product, services and commercial strategy Kate Beaumont has told The Verge that there's going to be a press event for the Galaxy Fold “at the beginning of April.” Samsung will reveal more information about the device at this event and may ostensibly allow members of the press to experience the device for themselves. I say ostensibly because there's no guarantee that it will be a press event in the conventional sense. Samsung may just reveal more information about the device through a press release.
Beaumont mentioned that there's going to be less supply of the Galaxy Fold at launch than the company would have of a device like the Galaxy S10, and that “how it goes to market is really important to us.” Samsung Mobile boss DJ Koh has previously said that the company will produce one million units of the device initially and that production may be increased if the response is good. He has previously said that the foldable device will be released globally.
However, it may not be released like a conventional Samsung smartphone. Beaumont said that the device won't be on display in all stores. “You’re not going to see it on the stands, we want to make sure it’s a very personal experience,” adding that “This is a super premium device, and we want to make sure it has a concierge-like service and experience.” No explanation has been offered about the concierge-like service but that will most likely come at the device's press event. It will surely be interesting to see what this “intensive aftercare” will turn out to be.
What that means is customers won't find the device at every retailer and carrier store. Samsung may only make the device available through select retailers and it's possible that it may opt to sell the device through luxury department stores in some markets. That's something that Apple did with the $10,000 Apple Watch Edition.
Vertu used to provide 24/7 concierge support to customers of its premium smartphones. Whether Samsung will be doing the same for Galaxy Fold customers remains to be seen. It may not offer that level of aftercare but it would certainly be more than what you get with any other Samsung phone.
Commenting on the design of the device, Beaumont said that Samsung considered a lot of options. The company feels like having the screen on the inside is the best way to protected that foldable display with respect to usability and durability. “We have the technology to do a fold that is very very tiny, as of course if you have the fold on the outside it doesn’t take quite the same amount of research and development to get that device to fold as it does something that is folding with a much lower angle degree on it,” Beaumont said, throwing some shade on the likes of Huawei, something we also explained in our opinion about the hype and reality of Huawei's foldable phone vs the Galaxy Fold.
