The Samsung Galaxy Fold is an expensive piece of tech which is not as amazing as everyone thought it would be. Within days of use, it is breaking and Samsung had to recently delay the entire launch plan for the device due to these issues.
Last week we reported that the Samsung Galaxy Fold South African pricing would come in at R45,000. That is a lot of money considering it is just a smartphone and to show you how much it really is, we have put together a guide on everything you could actually do with that money instead of buying a half-assed attempt at innovation.
RELATED: Samsung Galaxy Fold South African Price Reportedly Around R45,000
Here are a few things you could do and buy with R45,000 that would make much better investments in 2019.
RTX Gaming Laptop
We know how much you all love your gaming hardware and that is why we would rather see you buy something nice with your hard-earned cash. How about a fancy, top-of-the-range RTX gaming laptop? To put it into perspective, you can walk away with an RTX 2080, Core-i7, 32GB of RAM gaming laptop for the same price as the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
Right now, the MSI GE63 Raider will deliver the following specs for the same price as Samsung’s foldable device.
- 15.6-inch FHD 144Hz Display
- NVIDIA RTX 2080 8GB
- Intel Core-i7 4.10GHz
- 1TB SSD
- 32GB RAM
- Total cost: R45.999
So the RTX laptop folds too, just saying. It may not have a screen that folds but you can close it and open it without the display peeling itself off the device. Also, it does raytracing, high-end gaming and you can watch Netflix on it. Sounds like a great buy to me.
iPhone XS Max
So you know when Apple announced its iPhone XS Max how everyone went crazy and thought the price was crazy? Well, it is refreshing to see the tables being turned now and being able to tell you that buying the biggest iPhone with the most storage is now cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Fold.
You can live the boogie life with an iPhone XS Max 512GB Gold model that retails for R31,999. That is still cheaper than Samsung’s broken, I mean “innovative” new smartphone and it works without the screen peeling off. Sure, it does not fold but it is gold and an iPhone.
A Trip to E3 2019
To put the price of the Samsung Galaxy Fold into perspective, a trip to LA to attend E3 2019 costs around R45,000. This includes flights, accommodation and a decent budget for food and transport. Sure, you would have to stay a few kilometres away from the LA convention centre, but it is E3 so get some shoes on and take a walk.
This means that instead of having a phone that opens and closes and wows your friends for about an hour, you can attend one of the industry’s biggest gaming events of the year, experience Los Angeles, see some games, eat some American junk food and buy some swag.
A New TV
I love new technology and a new TV is one of the most important investments you could make in 2019 if you appreciate and respect great viewing quality. A TV is more than just a bunch of pixels these days as HDR and 4K makes the world of difference when watching movies and playing games.
R45,000 is a lot of money and that amount of cash basically covers a wide range of some pretty high-end TV sets. You can get a whopping 75-inch LG Nano Smart TV For R34,999, a Samsung 75-inch QLED TV for R45,999 or even the master of TVs, an LG OLED 55-inch for R44,999.
You could also totally just got for a humble 65-inch LG UHD TV set that retails for around R19,999. With the change you have, you can then put it aside and wait for my next point.
Save it for Next-Gen Consoles
We know that Sony and Microsoft are cooking up new gaming consoles which will be releasing in the next year or two. The PS5 and Xbox whatever-they-call it will be the next step in gaming hardware and while they sound great in concept, they will be expensive.
Even though Sony says that the PS5 will retail at an attractive price point, in SA, don’t expect them to sell for under R9,000. This is where your Samsung Galaxy Fold budget comes in handy. With the price of the phone, you can grab a fancy 4K UHD HDR TV and have plenty of small change left to put towards your next console purchase. Hell, you could even splurge on a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X in the time being to keep you busy until they come around.
Fly to China to Witness the International 2019
The International 2019 takes place in China this year and it will no doubt be one of the greatest esports spectacles of all time. As a massive Dota 2 fan, Wessel would take his R45,000 and plan a trip to China and watch TI 2019 live from 20 to 25 August. Memories like that would last forever while judging by early reports, the Galaxy Fold wouldn’t even last a few years.
13 other things to do instead of buying a Samsung Galaxy Fold
- 7-night stay in the 5-star Constance Ephelia Resort Seychelles including flights with breakfast and dinner – R43.850
- Put R45,000 deposit down on a new car
- Pay a chunk of your car finance
- Get a new MacBook Pro 15-inch at R46,999
- Watch Avengers: Endgame 341 times
- Get a couple of inverters and prepare your house for loadshedding this winter
- Fly to New York, stay there for seven nights and watch The Lion King on Broadway for +-/ R42,000
- Buy a Samsung Galaxy S10+ 1TB and a Galaxy S10e – R44,998.
- Buy and build the LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon (R13,999), Death Star (R8,499), LEGO Star Wars Betrayal at Cloud City (R5,199) and the LEGO Star Wars Y-Wing Fighter (R3,199) – R30,896
- Buy 266 months of Netflix Premium Membership
- Get a 2011 Vespa Piaggio R45,900
- Buy an iPad Pro 11-inch 1TB for R30,499
- Build the ultimate gaming PC
What would you do with R45,000? Let us know in the comments below.
