You must have heard of Pablo Escobar, the infamous Colombian drug lord. Now, his brother Roberto Escobar has extended Escobar’s legacy beyond drug smuggling by introducing a new Foldable phone, Escobar Fold 1. Roberto just made it seem foldable phones aren’t any more a futuristic device. And the best thing is, the Fold 1 won’t make your pockets go dry like Galaxy Fold, Mate X, or the new Moto Razr. The price of Escobar Fold 1 is set for $349 (128 GB) and $499 (512 GB). Does Escobar Fold 1 has what it takes to compete with other foldable smartphones?
Escobar Fold 1 Key Specifications
| Release Date | December 2019 |
| Display | 7.8-inches, AMOLED, FHD+ 1920 x 1444 pixels |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Series 8150: Andreno 640 |
| Memory | 6/128 GB and 8/512 GB Expansion up to 256 GB |
| Camera (Both rear and selfie) | 16 MP, f/1.8 + 20MP, f/2.0 |
| OS and UI | Android Pie (v9.0) |
| Battery | 4000mAh |
| Colors Available | Black |
| Miscellaneous | In-display fingerprint sensor, 3.55mm Audiojack available, Special Security, Ambient light, Proximity, Accelerometer, Multi-axis gyro, Compass, Hall effect sensor, Barometer |
| Escobar Fold 1 Price | $349 (6/128 GB) $499 (8/256 GB) |
Design and Display
Escobar Fold 1 flaunts 7.8-inches flexible AMOLED, FHD+ (1920 x 1444 pixels) display. The device has 4:3 aspect ratio in an expanded mode. Design-wise, the Fold 1 has an outward folding screen, similar to Huawei Mate X, and is said to have a display made up of a “special type of plastic’ that makes it harder to break, quoting as “Unbreakable Phone”, unlike Samsung Galaxy Fold. On the bottom, edge loudspeakers are placed. There’s an in-display fingerprint scanner. Escobar weighs about 350 grams only.
Dual Camera Setup
Escobar Fold 1 has a dual-camera setup. It consists of 16 MP, f/1.8 + 20MP, f/2.0 camera setup for both selfie and rear photos. Not only that, it has dual-LED flash and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). The camera department seems quite normal compared to other foldable devices.
Performance, Software, and Battery
Powering the Escobar Fold 1, we’ve Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 series, 8150, a 64-bit processor coupled with 6/8 GB of RAM. For the GPU we have Adreno 640. This device is available in two storage variants- 128 GB and 512 GB. For a 128GB variant, you can expand your storage up to 256GB with a dedicated microSD expansion slot. Escobar Fold 1 runs on Android 9.0 (Pie) out of the box. We have good news for 3.5mm audio jack lovers as there’s one on this device. It’s rare to find a 3.55mm audio jack nowadays.
Massive 4000mAh battery fuels Escobar Fold 1 and for the charging port, we have USB Type-C. The outstanding feature of this device is the ‘Special Security’ features. This makes the device quite hard for others to scan for both near field communication via Bluetooth or for the government. As the device has a thin layer of metal that blocks RFID and other communications. Another main thing to consider is that they are directly selling the device, without any middleman involved. This helps the users on the price point aspect.
Price and Availability
Overall, Escobar Fold 1 seems quite impressive. Still, there are rooms for improvement. But that’s for sure, it will give competition to other foldable smartphones for this price. As Roberto Escobar stated, unlike other brands there will be no middleman involved in selling or buying and this cuts the cost to this unbelievable $349. Escobar Fold 1 will be shipped globally (limited to only 100,000 units) and you can purchase an unlocked version exclusively from the Escobar Inc website. Escobar Fold 1 comes in two storage variant with the following price tag:
- Price of Escobar Fold 1 (128 GB) = $349
- Price of Escobar Fold 1 (512 GB) = $499
Escobar vs Apple
Though the phone resembles Flexpai down to its bones, folds outwards like Mate X and is named similar to Galaxy Fold, Escobar doesn’t count any of these devices as competitors. In fact, Escobar has his guns pointed at Apple. In conversation with Digital Trends, Escobar told, “I have told many people that I would beat Apple and I will. I cut the networks and retailers, to sell to customers phones that can fold for only $349, phones which in stores cost thousands of dollars by Samsung and others. This is my goal, to beat Apple, and by doing it myself like I always have.”
That’s not all because Escobar called out Apple as “scammers” and has plans to file a $30 billion class-action lawsuit against Apple on Jan 6 of 2020 with almost $1 million already spent on lawyers to begin the process.
So, what do you think of Pablo Escobar’s foldable phone? Feel free to share your views.
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