It's not expected to hit shelves until the end of the month, but one Dubai royal has received a sneak preview of the tech world's hottest new release. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, is among the first to get his hands on Samsung's Galaxy Fold, the futuristic foldable phone first revealed back in February. The royal sported the high-tech device in new images posted to his Instagram Stories on Monday, days ahead of the smartphone officially being released. The Galaxy Fold features the world's first infinity flex screen display, and can be neatly bent and flattened out again into a 18.5-centimetre screen. The device also boasts six cameras, with a 4G version set to go on sale in the region in the second quarter of 2019. It costs $1,980 (Dh7,273), and a 5G version is expected to be rolled out in the later future. It can run up to three applications simultaneously when expanded, and it supports app continuity between screens, which means there will be no interruption when folding or unfolding the screen. Sheikh Hamdan offered his 7.8 million Instagram fans a peek at the Fold, as he thanked Samsung for being able to get an early look at the futuristic phone. The tech giant has called the book-style device "the biggest breakthrough since the mobile phone", and unveiled it at the same time as its latest S10 series. “We created Galaxy Fold for those who want to experience what a premium foldable device can do, beyond the limits of a traditional smartphone,” said DJ Koh, president and chief executive of IT and mobile communications at Samsung. Other new devices – the 15.5cm S10, 16.3cm S10+ and 14.7cm S10e – went on sale last month. This isn't the first time Sheikh Hamdan has demonstrated his tech nous; the Crown Prince was among the first to sport the iPhone X back in 2017, and has also been known to use a GoPro to capture some of the more adventurous shots on his social media feeds.
