WTH - Samsung, this should have been the Fold 6!

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The Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition packs some notable upgrades

No word if it supports the S-Pen (if not, it is NOT for this crowd) - but still - 1.5mm THINNER than Fold 6 with bigger inside and outside screens AND 200 MP camera? And ONLY in South Korea?

So the thinner fold 6 with the 200 pixel camera may still have an S-Pen? The Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition could have S Pen support after all — what we know | Tom's Guide (tomsguide.com) Well that's intersting. Can't see switching, no matter how tempting the deal will be from Samsung. It took a week to transition from my Note 10 to this Fold.

I've switched fron the Spen case to the Nillikin with a slot for the Spen.

It isn't as nice when closed and when open it absolutely doesn't sit flat at all. And the pink Spen doesn't go well with black unlike the navy of the Spen case.

But... the Spen is much easier to access, the case is less slippy, the protected hinge is very reassuring, and there's MagSafe.

Most MagSafe accessories don't work well or at all due to the camera bump and the case's hinge covers, but it is so much easier to use in a car or on a deskstand. Qi wireless charging ring in non-rapid mode is only good for maintaining battery though, not gaining charge.

Samsung is looking more and more like Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Kawai and other Japanese electronic giants in the early 90’s. Sluggish, lost initiative, middle management that plays defence. Basically they are saved by the US anti-China policies.

Well, the screen protector priced as if it were gold has gone on. It's quite good at being anti-reflective.

I ruined the first one as the installation isn't through clearest (well, the guides are broken, the protector is still sealed).

I thought the second was bad because I had some dust under it. Thankfully, it was at the edges and a guitar pick got rid of it.

I don't have the crease in the middle, probably because of the cack handed job I made of installing it serendipitously lifting up the first half.

I just want a flip with S pen support and S24 ultra main camera(also slightly bigger battery).

It's been a long time since I've fallen for a new piece of tech like this. https://youtu.be/Ky7FAtZDVp4?si=ken9Dlrujds6WzhE

Finally got to use the pen. Feels much the same as the Note 10 but with a much larger surface to write on. It's what I imagine an IPad mini would be like but with an S-Pen.

I have the Spen case, which is nice enough, but no MagSafe/Qi2 in 2024 is annoying. The stylus is annoying to get out as it is.

So I went with a cheap £20 case with MagSafe for now as other than Samsung, no one seems to have gotten their measurements quite right. After extras to make it into a Frankencase though, it's exceeded £60, partly due to having to get various stuff for testing and cannibalising (sorry amazingly tiny Japanese pen; you're getting torn apart).

I am getting used to the heft of the new Fold. I have not been able to use the front screen because my cover has not yet arrived (it is crawling its way across the country and is currently in North Jersey) and I've kept the original black cover on it to keep it from scratching. But, the inner display is incredible. First, it is a pleasure to view. Colors are vivid, images are bright and text is clear. It's nearly as large of my old Asus Viva Note 8, which is still one of the tech loves of my life. The step up from the Note 10 to the Fold 6 is as large and profound a step as I took upgrading from a Blackberry Curve to a Nokia Lumia 938 Smartphone.

Moving from a 4G LTE to a 5G phone also appeas to be an improvement (although with more RAM and 8 Cores, its hard to isolate the reason for the improved speed). Apparently, I can't use the Ultra wideband setting because I do not have the Verizon Ultra Plan. So, with the higher priced plan, there might be an ever greater performance increase.

The phone folded is a thing to behold. The seems are tight and straight. Samsung got the design right with this version of the hinge. It is smooth and looks great when closed.

Battery life is much better than I anticipated. My first day at work and the battery was at 70% at the end of the day. I expect that battery use will increase as soon as I get the new case and begin using the front display freely. Still, it looks like the phone gets at least a full day of use and probably more than a day until it needs to be charged. Since I have been in the habit of charging my phone on the bedstand every night, this phone has adequate duration for my needs.

The funny thing is that this phone is more of a tablet than a lot of my early tablets. It clearly outperforms my old Slate 500, Fujitsu Q584, Asus Viva Note 8 and even the early Surface 3 Atoms. I haven't had the chance to try out the S Pen, since it is traveling around the country with my case. Damn them!

I suppose I can handle most routine emails with the Fold and the annotation work I do on the larger Pro X. The display is still too small for serious writing such as brief production and the like, but I can proof work of that complexity and breadth with the display. If only I could get Wordperfect to run on it.

Glad to see I'm not the only one scratching that itch!

This is going to take some getting used to. For one, I don't think Microsoft Launcher is available for the Fold. Verizon's and Google's self set up is a hot mess. I'm going to have to do it app by app and then sift through all of the auto settings I don't want on.

That said, the big screen is a joy. It is clear and sharp. It is also quite bright. It is so bright that i can read it in direct sunlight, albeit a but impaired. The fold will probably suffice for most things in sunlight, such as reading email, taking notes and marking up docs but it won't replace an e-ink reader for recreational reading by the pool.

The crease is clearly visible but I don't think it will matter. I'm already used to it.

My Note 10 pen doesn't work on the Fold, so I'm waiting for the Samsung pen and case to arrive.

5G seems an improvement in speed. It could also be the added RAM and faster CPU. 5G connections are clearly better than 4G LTE here in the woods of Jersey.

It's a brave new world with the fold. I feel like I'm relearning everything. I could see running Windows on this device. Glad I Pre-ordered it. The deal was too good to pass up. My Note 10 was still serviceable but the screen was fairly scratched up from putting other things in my back pocket with it and the battery was under a day's duration requiring charging during the workday.

In all, so far so good.

It's here! Case won't be here until next week, so it's staying home till then. Damn, it's pretty.

I just got notice that my fold has shipped. It's a week early.

I'll believe 7.7 mm when I see it. Penabled? I think not.

Could this even be real - Fold 7 will be 7.7mm thick when closed:

https://9to5google.com/2024/07/18/samsung-thinner-foldable-report/

Damn the weak JPY! $900 for the Fold 3 bringing the price tag to $960 for the Fold 6. Great deal if I were paying in dollars.

Well, I took the plunge. Pre-ordered the Fold 6. Went with the Samsung case and free pen. Grey phone and case. $30.51 per month for 36 months.

I can confirm the deal. It's in the cart of my Verizon account. Ready to pull the trigger as soon as I decide on silver or blue. Spigen case with kickstand and pen silo looks like a winner.

Verizon seems to be offering a $200 gift card as well. But, the pen is sold separately? Whats that all about? It is offered with the Samsung case but I'm not crazy about the way it is mounted on the case.

I like the pen storage on the Spigen case. It also doubles as a kickstand. With a keyboard in the briefcase. Does the Pro X stay at work? Is this eventually the mythical one device solution.

I'll be trading in my Note 10 after 5 years. What a durable design that was.

After watching a zillion videos, it does seem that the aspect ratios have improved at least, with the closed device looking much cleaner. The ring is vaguely interesting. The new buds are silly looking. And the ultra watch is really ugly.

Same old same old. No real camera improvement; no form factor improvement; no better pen solution; just AI BS EVERYWHERE.

Ridiculous, but entirely predictable.

There are many ways they could make the Fold better, from a normal frequency for the EMR to a 3.5mm socket. Or a nice ABS back, not fragile glass.

But no, it's all AI, AI, AI. The livestream was just marketing malarky.

All that said, my first gen Fold is sitting next to me refusing to charge, so I might jump in now if the pre-order incentives are good enough. I'm not coping well with candybar phones.