Escobar Fold 2: Gold Foil or Fool's Gold?
In early 2020, Escobar Inc., a company associated with Roberto Escobar—the brother of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar—unveiled the Escobar Fold 2. Marketed as a revolutionary foldable smartphone priced at $399, it promised to rival high-end devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which retailed for nearly $2,000.
The promotional campaign was as audacious as its pricing. Videos featured models destroying Samsung phones, accompanied by bold slogans like “Rest in Peace Samsung. The company even bought the domain "ripsamsung.com" and "ripapple.com" which redirected to the Escobar Inc. Website. Fortunetly, those websites have been taken down and don't go to the Escobar Inc. Website.
“From using the phone just for a little bit, it's pretty clear this appears to be a legit Samsung Galaxy Fold.”
— IFLScience
However, upon closer inspection by tech reviewers, including YouTuber Marques Brownlee, the Escobar Fold 2 was revealed to be a standard Samsung Galaxy Fold adorned with gold-colored foil to obscure its original branding. Brownlee's unboxing video demonstrated how the gold stickers could be peeled off, unveiling the Samsung logo beneath.
Further investigations uncovered that many customers who ordered the device never received it. Reports suggested that Escobar Inc. selectively fulfilled orders, primarily shipping devices to influencers and media personalities to generate buzz, while regular consumers were left empty-handed. Some even reported receiving unrelated items, such as books, instead of the promised smartphone.
This pattern wasn't new for Escobar Inc. Their previous release, the Escobar Fold 1, was essentially a rebranded Royole FlexPai, and it too faced criticism for non-delivery and misleading marketing. The company's tactics raised significant concerns about consumer fraud and deceptive business practices. Their entire game plan was a "rinse and repeat" system, where they would pretend to produce their own phone while simply re-branding another company's phone. Once the traction died down, they would "produce" a new phone and let the hype speak for itself. Their cheek of it is when tech YouTuber, MKBHD, reviewed the Escobar Fold 2, he was able to easily peel away the gold tinfoil revealing the bright and bold SAMSUNG logo on the phone hinge, revealing the phone, and the comany's, true colors.
The Escobar Fold 2 saga serves as a cautionary tale about too-good-to-be-true deals and the importance of skepticism in the face of aggressive marketing. It underscores the need for consumers to conduct thorough research and rely on reputable sources before making purchases, especially when offers seem unusually enticing.