Why the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Galaxy Book S make for a perfect one-two mobile punch

[Redaktion]

Whether you like it or not, think it's necessary or not, the Samsung Galaxy Fold is a revolutionary device. Similarly, the Samsung Galaxy Book S also heralds a revolution as well – the potential wholesale transition from Intel to ARM-based PCs. Read on to find out why they have become my indispensable mobile companions.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Why-the-Samsung-Galaxy-Fold-and-the-Galaxy-Book-S-make-for-a-perfect-one-two-mobile-punch.454878.0.html

[Shiro]

That's a great article with nice insight into a neat workflow. I feel the same, but I absolutely need a pen for my line of work /personal use, so I'm holding out for a Galaxy Fold with S Pen and a Surface Book 3 or Lenovo Thinkpad x1 Fold...

[phila_delphia]

Great, that this combinaiton works for you.

In my oppinion both devices are far to expensive for what they are capable of.

What has the fold to offer besides the big but fragile screen; and is it worth the 2.100 € (a price that I deem utterly laughable)?

Same with the Galaxy Book S (should be abound 1.750,- € when it will hit stores in Germany) which might be lightweight but can not handle much more than some office and browsing. Worth it?

No, this combinaiton would cost me nearly 4000,- € and still leave me with the need of a (somewhat) powerful desktop and a tablet to write or draw on.

Best regards

phila

P.S.: Is this a sponsored post?

[Sanjiv Sathiah]

Great, that this combinaiton works for you.

In my oppinion both devices are far to expensive for what they are capable of.

What has the fold to offer besides the big but fragile screen; and is it worth the 2.100 € (a price that I deem utterly laughable)?

Same with the Galaxy Book S (should be abound 1.750,- € when it will hit stores in Germany) which might be lightweight but can not handle much more than some office and browsing. Worth it?

No, this combinaiton would cost me nearly 4000,- € and still leave me with the need of a (somewhat) powerful desktop and a tablet to write or draw on.

Best regards

phila

P.S.: Is this a sponsored post?

I suspect you didn't bother reading the article as the answer to your question is clearly answered in the first paragraph.

As for the value equation, the Fold more than stacks up against a device like the iPhone 11 Pro Max in terms of value for money. A iPhone 11 Pro Max with 512 GB of storage retails for US$1,500. For US$1980 the Fold picks up 3x RAM, two displays, is dual-purpose, includes Galaxy Buds in the box and Samsung Care+. AirPods will cost you extra as well Apple Care+.

As for the Galaxy Book S not being able to cut it as a standalone device, correct. This article is about how this is a great *mobile* combo for *my* workflow. As for its price, it is US$999, or no more than an Apple MacBook Air plus it offers built-in 4G LTE support where the Air doesn't. It is also thinner, lighter, faster and lasts nearly twice as long on a charge.

[phila_delphia]

I suspect you didn't bother reading the article as the answer to your question is clearly answered in the first paragraph.

As for the value equation, the Fold more than stacks up against a device like the iPhone 11 Pro Max in terms of value for money. A iPhone 11 Pro Max with 512 GB of storage retails for US$1,500. For US$1980 the Fold picks up 3x RAM, two displays, is dual-purpose, includes Galaxy Buds in the box and Samsung Care+. AirPods will cost you extra as well Apple Care+.

As for the Galaxy Book S not being able to cut it as a standalone device, correct. This article is about how this is a great *mobile* combo for *my* workflow. As for its price, it is US$999, or no more than an Apple MacBook Air plus it offers built-in 4G LTE support where the Air doesn't. It is also thinner, lighter, faster and lasts nearly twice as long on a charge.

You got me on the very first line as I seemed to have not read the disclaimer. In fact I jumped right in to see how thise devices can improve the workflow. So I beg your pardon on this one.

Still - and that is only me - I can not see any benefit fom this very expensive combination over let`s say a solid convertible + a regular smartphone and I was not able to extract this form your lines as for browser and office based work almost any device can handle this. So allways on is the only benefit?!

Perhaps I just expected some real astonishing insights on how this 3800$ combo can do things that a powerful detatchable can not. And perhaps because of this the artivel read like an advert in my eys - even though it cleary is not.

All the best

phila

[_MT_]

I suspect you didn't bother reading the article as the answer to your question is clearly answered in the first paragraph.

As for the value equation, the Fold more than stacks up against a device like the iPhone 11 Pro Max in terms of value for money. A iPhone 11 Pro Max with 512 GB of storage retails for US$1,500. For US$1980 the Fold picks up 3x RAM, two displays, is dual-purpose, includes Galaxy Buds in the box and Samsung Care+. AirPods will cost you extra as well Apple Care+.

As for the Galaxy Book S not being able to cut it as a standalone device, correct. This article is about how this is a great *mobile* combo for *my* workflow. As for its price, it is US$999, or no more than an Apple MacBook Air plus it offers built-in 4G LTE support where the Air doesn't. It is also thinner, lighter, faster and lasts nearly twice as long on a charge.

That's a pretty weak argument considering the iPhone Pro is one of the most expensive phones on the market. Offering one of the worst values. Especially the versions with larger storage as Apple is simply greedy. Seriously, flash is cheap.

What exactly brings the Fold to the table compared to a non-foldable phone if you carry the Galaxy Book S (GBS) anyway? I understand the advantage is that it's more like a tablet so you don't have to carry one. But you said the same thing about the GBS. Is it for the time the GBS stays behind?

Again, you're arguing value using one of the brands offering the least value. I probably would be willing to pay €1000 (or even more) for the GBS as long as it had a really good keyboard (and a screen, more on that later). That could go head to head with some of the best ultrabooks. Otherwise, it's more like a €600 device for me and looses its appeal (I would rather carry a battery pack than compromise on the keyboard; I'm not a wimp, I remember the time when high-end business laptops had 3 kg and were 35 mm thick and it wasn't a problem for me). Also, the screen's aspect ratio is a nuisance (as well as it being glossy). 16:9 is absolutely unsuitable for productivity work, especially on such a small screen (it's a different story on a 35" display). Working with something like Excel just sucks, not to mention text when I want to see as many lines as possible. It's really funny how Microsoft chose to introduce space eating ribbons when screens got more vertically cramped (not only were toolbars more space efficient, you could push them to the side utilizing the width). And what's the benefit of being always connected?

You spoke of 32-bit emulation. Can it run 64-bit x86 software? I'm not sure whether the software I use is even available in a 32-bit version. The last time I had a 32-bit computer was in the Windows XP days.

[_MT_]

You repeatedly wrote about the great battery life. Playing video. I don't care about video, I spend less than 30 minutes a day watching videos. How long does it last, for example, word processing? Or at least browsing. Surely you ran your Wi-Fi test. Please, forgive my ignorance if you've already posted the numbers and I missed it/ it slipped my mind. I'm asking because Microsoft is quoting at most 13 hours battery life for their Surface Pro X. At least according to my favorite store.

[FV]

As for the value equation, the Fold more than stacks up against a device like the iPhone 11 Pro Max in terms of value for money. A iPhone 11 Pro Max with 512 GB of storage retails for US$1,500. For US$1980 the Fold picks up 3x RAM, two displays, is dual-purpose, includes Galaxy Buds in the box and Samsung Care+. AirPods will cost you extra as well Apple Care+.

You may love your Galaxy fold, but no it's value is very low compared to both an iPhone or to the many Android alternatives.

The Fold's single advantage over a phone+tablet combo is portability. But this is very situational, because its exceptional thickness makes it less comfortable to carry in a pocket than a traditional phone.
So when you only need a phone and not both a phone and tablet, you are actually losing in comfort/portability.
You also lose in practicality, because you have to go the extra step to unfold/fold it, otherwise you lose on screen/body ratio compared to a standard phone. And you lose one handed usability too.
If you carry a bag, an Android phone+tablet combo is less expensive, more flexible, and possibly more comfortable to carry because less pocket bulge.

This is for the "advantages" of the format!

Your comparison with the value of an iPhone is dishonest, for multiple reasons.
To begin with, being and Android device you should use other Androids for reference. iOS, especially on tablets, has its own perks that may justify its premium price.
You compare the price of the Fold bundle with stuff that people don't necessarily want, with the price of an iPhone + buying those items separately, ignoring that the latter is preferable and translates to better value for the people who don't want the bundle. And you picked the more expensive 512Gb iPhone, ignoring that many people will find 256 enough and have the choice to buy that.
Also you cheery picked the specs to compare to make the Fold look more impressive, namely the RAM, although it makes little sense to compare it among two different OS, while disregarding other that are more meaningful and directly comparable, like screen and audio and camera quality.

Last, that value comparison comes crashing down when you factor in expected resale values. The iPhone holds it's price pretty well. Niche, 1st Gen hardware with known reliability issues, how much are people going to pay for that in a couple years?

Which brings us to the reliability of the Fold. How good will it look the screen after a few months of folding, compared to a glass screen? And how much more likely it is to suffer some kind of failure?

For less money you can buy an iPad pro 12.9 256Gb 4g and an OnePlus 7t Pro. An excellent phone and a tablet that is on a whole different league than a Fold-as-a-tablet.
A more relevant comparison would be a 7t Pro + a Galaxy tab S6 for 2/3 of the money.

[Sanjiv Sathiah]

You repeatedly wrote about the great battery life. Playing video. I don't care about video, I spend less than 30 minutes a day watching videos. How long does it last, for example, word processing? Or at least browsing. Surely you ran your Wi-Fi test. Please, forgive my ignorance if you've already posted the numbers and I missed it/ it slipped my mind. I'm asking because Microsoft is quoting at most 13 hours battery life for their Surface Pro X. At least according to my favorite store.

Microsoft's Surface Pro X is rated at 13 hours for mixed use with brightness turned down to 150 nits. It is also a noticeably smaller 35 w/hr battery compared to the Galaxy Book S, which is a 42 w/hr battery. The Surface Pro X SQ1 is also higher clocked across its high-performance cores and Adreno GPU.

I've been using both devices lately and in everyday use, I've found the Samsung Galaxy Book S lasts considerably longer on a charge.

[Sanjiv Sathiah]

As for the value equation, the Fold more than stacks up against a device like the iPhone 11 Pro Max in terms of value for money. A iPhone 11 Pro Max with 512 GB of storage retails for US$1,500. For US$1980 the Fold picks up 3x RAM, two displays, is dual-purpose, includes Galaxy Buds in the box and Samsung Care+. AirPods will cost you extra as well Apple Care+.

You may love your Galaxy fold, but no it's value is very low compared to both an iPhone or to the many Android alternatives.

The Fold's single advantage over a phone+tablet combo is portability. But this is very situational, because its exceptional thickness makes it less comfortable to carry in a pocket than a traditional phone.
So when you only need a phone and not both a phone and tablet, you are actually losing in comfort/portability.
You also lose in practicality, because you have to go the extra step to unfold/fold it, otherwise you lose on screen/body ratio compared to a standard phone. And you lose one handed usability too.
If you carry a bag, an Android phone+tablet combo is less expensive, more flexible, and possibly more comfortable to carry because less pocket bulge.

This is for the "advantages" of the format!

Your comparison with the value of an iPhone is dishonest, for multiple reasons.
To begin with, being and Android device you should use other Androids for reference. iOS, especially on tablets, has its own perks that may justify its premium price.
You compare the price of the Fold bundle with stuff that people don't necessarily want, with the price of an iPhone + buying those items separately, ignoring that the latter is preferable and translates to better value for the people who don't want the bundle. And you picked the more expensive 512Gb iPhone, ignoring that many people will find 256 enough and have the choice to buy that.
Also you cheery picked the specs to compare to make the Fold look more impressive, namely the RAM, although it makes little sense to compare it among two different OS, while disregarding other that are more meaningful and directly comparable, like screen and audio and camera quality.

Last, that value comparison comes crashing down when you factor in expected resale values. The iPhone holds it's price pretty well. Niche, 1st Gen hardware with known reliability issues, how much are people going to pay for that in a couple years?

Which brings us to the reliability of the Fold. How good will it look the screen after a few months of folding, compared to a glass screen? And how much more likely it is to suffer some kind of failure?

For less money you can buy an iPad pro 12.9 256Gb 4g and an OnePlus 7t Pro. An excellent phone and a tablet that is on a whole different league than a Fold-as-a-tablet.
A more relevant comparison would be a 7t Pro + a Galaxy tab S6 for 2/3 of the money.

You are missing the point of this article -- it is not to examine the pros and cons of the Fold -- that is for other articles. This article is quite specifically about why this combination works so well for *me*. Of course everyone is going to be different and will want to spend their money differently.  And this article is certainly not about value for money -- that is in the eye of the beholder. For this combination is worth every cent I paid for it after years of searching for the right combination of devices (whether Apple Android or Windows). I only raised the value proposition of the device in relation to a previous comment in one of my previous comments.

No one, however, likes being called dishonest, but it also raises another point. Why shouldn't Samsung charge a premium for the Fold? It has invested, undoubtedly, tens of millions of dollars, if not hundreds of millions in developing its revolutionary foldable display technology. Further, Samsung is the closest we have in the Android world to Apple. But you say I should be comparing the Fold to Android device instead of an Apple device. Well the closest comparable device in the Android world is the Huawei Mate X. Guess what? It costs US$500 more.

As for its durability (not the subject of this article either), Samsung undoubtedly botched the launch of the device. But I've had ZERO issues with my Fold in nearly three months of daily use. And it's not like the web has been flooded with everyday users complaining about the durability of the Fold either - Samsung has sold something in the order 500,000 Folds, so if there were durability issues with it, you'd know about it. Besides, it is covered by a comprehensive warranty with the option of extra/extended cover.

You can also use the Fold one-handed. There is a one-handed keyboard mode and I often use it one-handed without issue, screen open or shut. The front screen is quite functional and very capable of being used one-handed. It also fits in a pocket just fine when folded. The only minor drawback is that it is slightly heavier, but that is a minor trade off for everything else the Fold offers me. To suggest one 'loses' in productivity because they have to unfold it is OTT.

As for your suggested alternative combination in the last line of your comment -- I already explained in the article that the phone/tablet combination just didn't work for me from a mobile productivity perspective which is why I also found myself in situations carrying around a phone, tablet and a laptop.

I'm not trying to convince people to go out and buy a Fold or a Galaxy Book S. To reiterate, this article is about why this combination works so well for me.

[bratan]

Interesting read - very much liked the workflow angle on how you approached it.

Wish there were more articles like these. Many reviews are too driven by plotting specs vs. price rather than how and who a specific device (or combination of devices) can actually benefit.

Somewhat surprised that a lot of the discussion here focusses on Macbook Air as point of comparison to the Galaxy Book S and the battery life discussion (what is the added value in terms of utility of 25h vs 13h, both get you through the day?). I would have been more curious on why you choose the Galaxy Book S over the Surface X? My impression was that it covers the same profile as the GBS (mobile user with office365 centric workflow) but has the added advantage of tablet mode + pen. Galaxy Fold is great for media consumption on the go, but at home on the couch it wouldn't be my first pick compared to other tablets or convertibles.