There are plenty of things out there that aren't technically worth what they cost.

Take art for example.

While I'm sure good paint, decent brushes, a high quality canvas and frame all don't come cheap, I'm just as sure they don't cost thousands. Or hundreds of thousands.

And yet, the right picture by the right artist at the right time can be "worth" millions.

Luxury cars are kind of the same.

Of course a high-performance automobile is expensive to design, test and produce - but that's not really what makes it the most expensive car in the parking lot, is it? It's because somebody wanted to own the most expensive car in the parking lot.

That's pretty much how I feel about the Samsung Galaxy Fold...

 

There's no doubt this is one of the most talked-about phones of the year... and for good reason.

It's not every device that's launched, almost immediately un-launched and then re-launched months later. How the well-publicised issues with the Fold's hinge and screen were not anticipated by Samsung in the first place is unbelievable. However, after the week I've spent using the device, I can assure you I've encountered none of the faults so widely splashed across the tech media earlier in the year.

 

In fact, my first impression of the Galaxy Fold was how solid everything felt. It's certainly heavy - after all we're dealing with two separate screens here, one of them  the giant 7.3inch Infinity Flex Display. There's also a lot of battery packed into both sides of the device so you'll definitely be well aware this thing is sitting in your pocket.

Yes, you can actually put it in your pocket - but probably not your back pocket. When closed, the Fold is very narrow for a modern phone but of course, it's also very thick; exactly like two long, narrow phones on top of each other.

 

It's available in Space Silver or Cosmos Black and while the silver is nice, if it were up to me I'd probably stick with the black, because the outer-screen half of the phone is black anyway. I'm not explaining this very well and I fear that's going to be a trend in the rest of this review. The Fold is wonderfully complicated that way.

Let's get straight into that controversial folding screen. It works and works well. It really is quite amazing. Pretty much every single person who's seen me using it has said something like, "Wow. That is actually pretty cool." And I mean everyone. Even people who usually give me a hard time about all my "dumb" gadgets. Yes, even tech-skeptics are impressed by the Fold.

Its greatest trick is the way you can have an app open on the smaller, 4.6inch front screen, then open the device to have the same app instantly resized on the much larger internal screen. That's the show-offy operation that makes checkout operators exclaim, "What kind of phone is that?" when you take it out to pay for your groceries via tap-and-go.

I'm slightly confused by the outer, smaller screen - it works flawlessly although obviously it's a bit cramped being so narrow - only three icons wide. You can still add weather and media widgets to it and access all your other apps just like any other home screen. I don't understand why it has to have curved corners though. Given it's already small, they just make it feel even more constricted. My major problem with the small display is it doesn't rotate and I have no idea why not. There's no quick access icon from the pull-down menu at the top of the screen to make it do so and I couldn't find any other setting anywhere else. I even tried downloading apps that force screens to rotate against their will. No joy. Why does this matter? Primarily for navigation purposes - in my case anyway. My phone is my GPS. I have a Samsung wireless charging cradle in my car. I was pleasantly surprised to find not only does the Fold fit securely in it when closed, it also charges no problem. However, my navigation apps are rendered virtually useless as they will only display in portrait. I can't read maps sideways. Annoying.

 

But once you open this thing up, it's a whole different story. There seems to be nothing the large screen isn't capable of. Admittedly, the 4.2 x 3 aspect ratio is unusually square, especially for a phone, but when it's open, the Fold isn't really a phone anymore, it's definitely a small tablet. Despite being told many apps wouldn't be customised for the Fold's unique format yet, I experienced no problems with anything I ran at all. Video, browsing, documents, games all worked first time, whichever way I held the device. Yes the seam in the middle is visible - more so from acute angles and using apps with light backgrounds. And yes you can feel it. But you know what? It makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. To anything. Open the Fold and you have a massive screen at your disposal. There's a new function that let's you choose multi-screen apps by swiping from the side - a bit like the edge-screen shortcuts on other Samsung handsets. These multi-screen apps can be resized to your preference and you drag them to your desired position on the screen, opening up to three at once. Strangely, not all apps could be used as multi-screen apps at the time I was reviewing the device but most could - I assume this is something the individual developers have to add into their code.

It really is a wonderful device to watch video on. Yest there's a massive multi-lens camera display taking up a lot of space in the top right-hand corner, but remember, there's space to burn here. The display is awesome and the stereo speakers on this thing are next level. Frankly, the best I've heard on a phone ever.

It took a bit of getting used to taking a call on the Fold, as you can't use it as a phone unless it's closed. This is explained to you on screen when you see the call come in - you can answer it, but then you need to shut everything up so you can hear the ear speaker on the outside. There are a fair few things that work differently on a truly ground-breaking device like this.

The fingerprint sensor for example. It's not built into the power button like it is on some phones, but is positioned on the edge just below the power button. This is similar to how things are set up on recent Samsung tablets. A bit confusing, but more or less in the right place to be accessed in either folded or unfolded modes and the good news is, it works fast and consistently.

Another oddity is the included case. If you've spent the price of a small, second-hand hatchback buying this thing, you probably want to take care of it. But how do you put a cover on something that folds in half? Samsung's answer is a slim, classy looking two-piece. Each half clips in place and is kept extra snug with a non-marking adhesive strip. Seems weird when you put it on. Actually looks pretty elegant and business-like once you do.

 

Nothing odd about the cameras, there are just so many of them! Three lenses on the back, a selfie cam on the front cover and a dual lens front-facing camera including a depth sensor on the main screen. I could go into long and intricate detail about the Fold's photo functionality but seriously, what did you expect here? No corners have been cut. Given the Galaxy 10 and Note 10 both sported some of the best photo tech we've ever seen built into phones, obviously the Fold was going to perform at least as well and it certainly does. So many options and I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed shooting pics from the rear camera with the handset closed - it just felt more like an old-school digital camera somehow and the small screen is still plenty big enough to preview your pics with a dizzying array of shooting options including great wide-angle and zoom functionality. Samsung's intelligent photo features are definitely genuinely helpful too - not just the Scene Optimiser and Shot Suggestions but there's also Flaw Detection to alert you to blurry shots, blinking subjects and even smudges on the lenses. (Very important on a phone with six cameras)

One of my favourite photographic features on high-end Samsung devices is Tracking AF - auto focus that stays on the intended subject even when they move around the frame. This even works while shooting video which makes a big difference when recording things like sports events from the sideline.

With all this insane screen and camera functionality, it's easy to forget the Fold is still a phone - but surely one of the most powerful I've come across. The 64-bit octa-core processor is teamed with an impressive 12GB of ram and 512GB of storage. Samsung has clearly put a lot of work into the operating system as well and let's just say, as far as the user experience goes, it flies.

With two high quality screens to run, one of them giant, I was a bit concerned about battery life but those fears were utterly unfounded. The 4380mAh battery spreads its dual cells over both halves of the device and I never even came close to running it flat over the longest of days. As I've mentioned, wireless charging is all in there too. Name a feature, the Fold has it.

Well, almost.

When you first fire it up you're presented with quite a list of "don'ts" to keep the Fold in one piece. Obviously there's no water or dust-resistance rating here and you're not even supposed to poke the screen too hard. Oh, and for god's sake, don't drop it.

After all, you've just paid $3399 for this phone, right?

No, that's not a typo. But that does entitle you to 24/7 customer support and a pair of Galaxy Buds included in the box.

Of course the Fold is not actually worth that much money. No phone could be. But this is more than a phone. It's an exciting new step towards a whole new category of smart devices. It's a head-turner, a showpiece and it'll probably be the only one in the room.

It's a sports car. A work of art. No longer just a phone.

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy Fold.