Samsung W2019 Flip Phone Announced In China With Flagship-Quality Specs, Ultra-Premium Pricing
Samsung recently followed up last year’s W2018 flip phone with a new device that offers a similar mix of throwback design qualities and present-day, high-end specifications. The South Korean company announced the W2019 at a media event in China earlier this week. This comes days after Samsung held its yearly developer’s conference in San Francisco and gave attendees a tease of the technology that is expected to be used on its much-awaited foldable phone.
As detailed in a report from Digital Trends, the Samsung W2019 is the direct successor to the W2018 and comes with an external and internal display that both measure 4.2 inches diagonally, with Full HD resolution. Like its predecessor, the W2019 comes with 6GB RAM, but is powered this time by the newer Snapdragon 845 processor from Qualcomm, instead of last year’s Snapdragon 835.
According to GizmoChina, the W2019’s other basic specifications and features include 128GB and 256GB internal storage options, two 12-megapixel rear camera lenses, a 3,070 mAh battery, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner, a button to activate Samsung’s Bixby smart assistant, and Android 8.1 Oreo with Samsung’s Experience user interface on top. The flip phone will also be doing away with the 3.5-millimeter headphone jack, a departure from recent Samsung devices that still had this feature included. In terms of color options, the company will be offering the device in rose gold and platinum variants.
Durability could be another important selling point for Samsung’s W2019. Per Android Authority, the W2019 looks like a device that’s tough enough to “break the ground” if dropped. While the publication noted that Samsung used Corning Gorilla Glass for the flip phone’s back panel, no information was provided on the material the company used for its interior and exterior displays.
#Samsung has now considered a clamshell design for its latest smartphonehttps://t.co/sIYXbzS1Kq
— Express Technology (@ExpressTechie) November 11, 2018
Much like W2018 buyers did last year, consumers who purchase the Samsung W2019 will get exclusive “concierge services” as a special perk of owning the device. This includes free software updates and fixes and phone disinfection services, as well as a similarly exclusive customer service hotline.
While the W2019’s specifications are comparable to those of Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9 flagships, the flip phone won’t be selling for cheap, as it will be sold at a considerably higher price than the aforementioned devices, or Apple’s recently released iPhone XS and XS Max. GizmoChina noted that the W2019 will be sold as a Chinese exclusive at a base price of 18,999 yuan, or about $2,730 in U.S. currency. The device was made available via pre-order earlier on Sunday.
