Two months ago, Roberto Escobar, who is the brother of well-known drug lord Pablo Escobar, announced the Escobar Fold, a foldable phone that cost a mere $350. The device was very clearly an imitation of the Royole FlexPai, a smartphone that became somewhat well-known for being the first foldable phone on the market.
Not satisfied with its first iteration, Escobar Inc. is now back with a new foldable, predictably called the Escobar Fold 2 (via CNET). This time, Escobar"s inspiration comes from Samsung"s Galaxy Fold, which is the most popular and widely available foldable on the market right now. Just like the first Escobar Fold, the second iteration distinguishes itself from the source material thanks to its striking gold color, Escobar Inc."s logo, and of course, the price. Compared to the nearly $2,000 price tag of the Galaxy Fold, the Escobar Fold 2 sits at a mere $399 for the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. A 12GB/512GB model is also available for $549.
Aside from the fact that you"re very likely to be getting lesser quality materials, there are some spec differences that bring the price down. The Escobar Fold has five cameras, instead of six. Three on the back - a 12MP main sensor, a 12MP telephoto lens, and a 16MP ultra-wide - a 10MP front-facing camera above the foldable screen, and another 8MP sensor above the external screen.
Aside from that, the spec sheet looks surprisingly similar to Samsung"s offering. It has a Snapdragon 855 chipset, a 4380mAh battery, a 7.3-inch foldable display on the inside, which theoretically supports HDR10+, and a 4.6-inch cover display. It"s also running Android 10.
Roberto Escobar says the company"s goal is to become the "overstock kingpin" of electronics:
"My goal is to become the overstock kingpin of electronical devices this year(...). All these factories simply have too much technology laying around, nobody is buying anything in China from secondary factories. We cut the prices and give clients direct discounts under the Escobar brand umbrella."
As per CNET"s report, Escobar plans to have an initial production run of 200,000 units, double of what it promised for the original Escobar Fold, and the device will be available in March. You can order it right now, though, if you want to take a chance.