The folding thing seemed like the story of the wolf; They had been warning us for a long time, but it took so long that it seemed that it would never arrive. Then the 2019 Mobile World Congress arrived and the wolf ate the sheep. It has been more than two years since Samsung introduced the Galaxy Fold, the first commercial product resulting from years of research and testing. It seemed that the thing was going to stay there and the Samsung Galaxy Fold would be an almost experimental product that would not have much travel. It has not been so.
Samsung has continued to bet on this risky concept with the Galaxy Z Fold2, they released the Galaxy Z Flip and have just launched a renewal of both with the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3. Samsung believes so much in folding, that along the way they have loaded a mythical series: the Galaxy Note.
You could see it coming
Rumors of the end of the Note series have been around for a long time and Samsung’s movements this year have been confirming it. The first was the launch of the S Pen for the Galaxy S21 Ultra. The S Pen was what made the Galaxy Note unique and that it is compatible with the other high-end family of the brand did not bode well for the continuity of the Note.
On the other hand, the August event was where Samsung announced the Note. Instead, today Samsung has announced two watches, headphones and two folding phones, one of them also with support for the S Pen. White and bottled: goodbye to the Note series
A little bit of nostalgia
Samsung debuted the first Galaxy Note in October 2011 and blew our minds with its then huge screen. It was only 5.3 inches tall, but back then that was gigantic (what times). The Samsung Galaxy Note was the one that coined the term phablet or, as I like to translate it, tabletphone (a term now obsolete since everything is phablets now). If until then the brands boasted of compact mobiles, this mobile would mark the turning point and would be responsible for them to start fighting to see who had the largest mobile.
After that hit, Samsung never missed its annual appointment and he presented us with new models in the range; first it did it in September coinciding with the IFA fair and later, starting with the Galaxy Note 5, it moved the event to August in order to take all the leading role. As if that were not enough, the Note family overcame the Galaxy Note 7 scandal and the explosions of its batteries that made, years later, the airlines continue to warn about it.
The Galaxy Note were unique, but over the years they have lost their essence.
In the beginning, the Galaxy Note was clearly distinguished from the Galaxy S: they were larger and had the S Pen as a differential feature. They were mobiles for users who wanted to maximize productivity. Over the years, the size matched up and the stylus was the only thing that set it apart. After the arrival of the first Galaxy Fold, the productivity argument was also falling and the Galaxy Note series was in no man’s land.
It is not that Samsung believes in folding, it is that it is the only one that does
I admit that I was one of those who thought that this folding thing was more of a “hey, look what we know how to do” than a strong bet that would last over time. I was partly wrong, but partly not. Since the first Fold there have been several folding that have reached the market, but while Samsung has created a continuity, the same cannot be said of other brands.
Since the first Fold there have been several folding that have reached the market, but while Samsung has created a continuity, the same cannot be said of other brands.
Nowadays there are three brands that have launched folding mobile phones on the market: Samsung, Huawei and Motorola. We can also add Xiaomi with the Mi Mix Fold and Royole with its FlexPai, but for now none of them have left China, so we have not included them in the table.
In the table it is clear. Samsung has been renewing its folding, Huawei and Motorola have been left behind. Huawei had the ingredients to be its strongest competitor, but the US veto has been a severe blow to the brand that cannot use Android or any component of American companies. Motorola for its part launched the Razr, a Flip-style folding model with a strong nostalgic component, but so far there have been no renovations.
Samsung is alone in the folding mobile race, but despite this it does not release the accelerator.
We can say that Samsung is alone in the folding mobile race, but despite this it does not release the accelerator. After a first model not without controversy, Samsung continued betting on this format, launching a second model in 2020 and renewing both in 2021.
Mission: mainstream
We always say that folding phones are not for everyone, but Samsung wants to change this starting with prices. This year the Fold3 has been lowered to 1,799 euros, 200 euros less than the Fold2, and 1,059 euros for the Flip3, which is almost 500 euros less than its predecessor. Yes, they are still expensive phones, but they are already at the level of a “normal” high-end, and even cheaper depending on which model we compare them with.
Samsung remains faithful to its strategy of offering products for all types of users, also in folding.
In addition, we cannot escape that Samsung does not have one, but two folding, and each one has a totally different design. If the Fold is the folding mobile with a clear productive and multimedia spirit, the Flip bets everything on design and the convenience of being able to reduce its size by half. Samsung remains faithful to its strategy of offering products for all types of users, also in folding. That they manage to make them mainstream remains to be seen, but it is clear that the bet is strong, so strong that along the way they have loaded one of their most mythical ranges.