Galaxy Fold: As Galaxy S turns 10, Samsung looks to future with first foldable phone

Samsung's Galaxy line may have turned 10 on Wednesday, but Samsung kicked off its latest event talking about its foldable future, specifically the Galaxy Fold.  

Available on April 26 for a starting price of an eye-popping $1,980, the newest Galaxy features a 4.6-inch display when closed and a 7.3-inch display when opened.

The Galaxy Fold will be offered in four color options: black, green, silver and blue. The device packs six cameras – three on the back, two on the inside and one on the front, as well as 512 GB of storage and 12 GB of RAM. The nearly $2,000 price is for the 4G LTE model, though Samsung says a 5G version will also be available. 

AT&T and T-Mobile will sell the foldable in the U.S.

A fingerprint sensor is on the side of the phone for unlocking the device, similar to the new Galaxy S10e which places its fingerprint sensor on its side power button. Two batteries, split across each side of the phone, powers the foldable. 

When plugged into a charger the device can take advantage of Samsung's new "Wireless PowerShare" feature to wirelessly charge other devices, such as the company's new Galaxy Buds earbuds, directly from the Fold while it simultaneously recharges itself. 

More:Galaxy S10: Samsung celebrates line's 10th anniversary with four new models, including 5G

First teased back in November, Samsung has worked with Google to allow for three apps to run simultaneously when in tablet mode. Samsung also demonstrated how apps that are viewed in the closed "phone mode," such as Google Maps or Netflix, can be expanded into tablet apps as the phone is unfolded. 

While foldable phones may become commonplace over time, at the Fold's starting price Samsung's first attempt is very clearly going after an affluent, early adopter crowd.

Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, thinks the device "will be a niche product" but also believes that "Samsung will sell as many Folds as it can make. It is ultra premium teetering on luxury. It will become a status symbol like the first iPhones were."

"Simply put, users want more display area to do more with the phone. Remember when smartphone displays were 4 inches? Now think about the 6-inch displays and how much more users do with their phones," Moorhead tells USA TODAY. "The experience is just better with a larger, 7.3-inch display and the use cases presented were compelling."

As news of the new device populated on Twitter, users shared their thoughts on the pricing. Jaun Sanson Jr. wrote that he'd "rather buy a new TV for that amount" while user @DeelbdulJackson commented "geez... just get a high end laptop." 

Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal