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Apple fans mock ‘desperate’ Samsung over ‘garbage’ FOLDABLE iPhone rival
SAMSUNG finally unveiled a prototype version of its foldable smartphone last night – after months of leaks and rumours.
And unsurprisingly, Apple fans have already chimed in to blast the "desperate" firm's new gadget as "absolute garbage".
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Samsung turned down the lights at its annual Developer Conference, and then had an exec show off the foldable blower in the dark.
The screen tech was described as an Infinity Flex Display – it's basically a tablet that can fold down to smartphone size.
But some gadget fans on Reddit's Apple were unimpressed by the Samsung foldable smartphone presentation.
"That was f***in weak man. They go through this big hoopla to show a video," wrote one angry user.
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He went on: "And then when the guy pulls the foldable phone out of his pocket, they darken the stage and only show that it is a screen. No more than a prototype.
"Desperate as always Samsung. Good job with the prototype. We'll see it in a year and you'll create REAL NEWS then."
He wasn't alone – lots of Apple fans complained about the device, with most suggesting it was simply too thick.
That's no surprise: the 7.3-inch tablet effectively doubles in thickness when it folds down into smartphone form.
"Absolute piece of garbage," wrote a user named PogClap.
"Screen quality seems bad. Phone is thick. The ratio is terrible for everything imaginable. Will lack stereo audio on all corners. Phone size too small, tablet size too small.
"It's like combining the worst of everything into one single product. Congrats."
Another complained: "I don't know that I want a brick for a phone, or a tablet that's too thick.
"I'd also like to see it with the lights on, and not in the dark where all you can make out is the screen."
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Others noted that the device didn't "seem very practical", and that it would have "more points of failure" compared to a conventional smartphone.
But one of the biggest complaints was about potential pricing.
Samsung didn't actually announce a price for the final product, but it's expected to be very high due to the cost of the components involved.
We recently spoke to industry expert Dan Ives, of Wedbush Securities, who said that Samsung's foldable handset could cost far more than the £899 Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – currently Samsung's priciest model.
"Given this totally innovative design and significant R&D behind it we believe $1,200-$1,350 price points are what we would expect when they eventually hit the market," Ives told The Sun.
Phone makers typically use identical or near-identical numbers (rather than direct currency conversions) for US versus UK pricing.
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So if a phone was sold at $1,350 in the USA, you'd expect UK pricing to fall somewhere between £1,250 and £1,350.
"I don't care about foldable devices, you know it's going to be expensive and finicky," wrote one user.
Another said: "This is going to be so expensive."
And one sceptical user wrote: "In its current form it looks like a chunky device from the 90s.
"It's gonna fail. I don't need a tablet and a phone in one device."
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But not all Apple fans were determined to snub the opposition.
A user named EnragedScrotum said: "It seems like a very innovative idea, excited to see where Samsung takes this."
And a user called fancyfrenchtoilet was partly optimistic: "Feels like gimmick-tech, but it'll probably evolve into something cool once it slims down and starts taking more interesting forms."
Others were convinced Apple would nab the tech itself: "I can see Apple adopting this for a larger iPhone or iPad Mini down the road."
Samsung hasn't announced a release date for its foldable smartphone, but confirmed that mass-production would begin in the "coming months".
It's expected that a phone will be available to buy in early 2019.
What do you think of Samsung's folding smartphone? Let us know in the comments!
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