So... they folded?
this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2024
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Well played.
Oh nooooooo.......
........
......anyways.
Bruh this comments section is making the wrong conclusions
Clamshell design was and always will be the superior space format. There's a reason why the DS and 3DS had so much homebrew, it was practically the successor to PDAs.
Android foldables have barely scratched the surface in split screen and back screen utility, but the half size alone makes it very nice to carry.
The real issue here is that yet another small groundbreaking OEM died because Android device development is an oligopoly. Google, Samsung, Motorola, and Oppo simply took the technology the moment it was revealed and immediately made competitor devices, regardless of initial quality, to get investors excited.
No one was gonna invest in some small Chinese OEM if the big ones were gonna do the same thing and guarantee sales + existence.
This exactly why Android feature development has stalled so hard. Everyone sits around twiddling their thumbs for several generations worth of phones until another startup comes up with a new feature they can implement for cash grab. It's so bad we literally lost features like NFC bumping just to match what everyone else is doing.
If some startup made a phone with the camera shifted an inch to the center, I can guarantee you the next pixel or galaxy will have it for literally no practical reason other than to prevent competition.
Never understood the reason of foldable smartphones, like what was their intended usecase?
I love it and would hate to go back. You have a normal sized phone that can make various otherwise awkward activities on small factor quite comfortable unfolded: note taking, film watching, reading, Internet in general.
It is so good to be able to whip this out anytime, anywhere.
It literally replaced 3 other devices for me that I used to drag around to cafes, work and when travelling.
I considered this overpriced bs until I got to try my friends device. Now I just consider it overpriced.
Would you say the technology is developed far enough?
I'm definitely interested, as the phone screen size is often a bit too small. But any mechanical movement makes me nervous on a small device that should last multiple years.
Hinge durability is the main concern.
I would not buy in yet unless you plan to upgrade every ~2 years.
Make sure the manufacturers warranty is solid.
Software-wise, I've not had any issues whatsoever.
I have one, and I plan on going back to a non foldable next phone. After 2 years of use there are a lot of minor annoyances that are adding up. The hinge is a concern, it doeant fully open flat anymore (maybe 175Β° now?).
The big annoyance is Apps vs screen ratio. Nearly all apps are designed for the 'standard' screen ratio, so folded is too thin width and things dont look right always, and open is too wide...same issue.
Another thing is watching stuff. The size is nice but again because of screen ratios you have massive black bars often.
At the end of the day I really like the tech for its 'new' feeling (I can fold a screen?!) but I cant justify the added cost for something with a bunch of annoyances.
Thank you for sharing your experience, those points are exactly what I'm worried about. Let's hope the situation improves over the next couple of years!
In my opinion it's good to go! Though some people seem to really dislike the hinge and the small dip in the screen it causes.
I've definitely been interested in one. What foldable device do you have? And which three devices did it replace?
Z Fold 4 going 2 years - the hinge on this can fail early, but fold 5 should be solid and can be found Β£600 refurbished.
Samsung warranty is notoriously bad though, so can't recommend for that reason (no personal experience).
From a user perspective: A tablet that folds up to the size of a phone. Or a phone that flips to the size of a compact little square.
From a business perspective: A phone with an extremely fragile screen that will require frequent replacement and a hinge that has limited life, ensuring customer retention and re-purchasing.
I do keep a loose eye on them, especially flips as I like the idea of a phone that can fold up really small for tiny pockets. Their unfathomable prices and durability issues put me off, though. I have seen foldables that have been kept past the usual 2-year contract window and... oof. They do not age gracefully. For the $1,800-$3,200CAD asking price that is unacceptable. Does not help that the only foldables with major retail presence here are from Samsung and Samsung's customer service and warranty support here is atrocious.
They're not that fragile really. I work outside, think asphalt worker. My flip 5 turns 1.5 years old today, no issues whatsoever besides the original screen protector that I replaced myself, dropped at least twice a month.
I've broken plenty of regular phones quicker than this have been alive now.
And while I'm at it, fuck samsung as a company, absolut shit support but nice hardware.
You managed to break multiple phones in less than two years? That's impressive.
Also yeah, 1.5 years is imo too little time to judge whether something is durable.
For me it would be to have a single device that could work as both a phone and tablet, so compact when folded for portability while having the option for using a big screen when needed.
The only usecase for foldables that made sense is that since phones keep on getting bigger, so having a foldable phone would save some pocket space. However, I think phones stopped growing after 6" and foldable phones have been considerably more expensive. People are just more comfortable with a normal "slab" phone.
I got to buy a flip and a fold for QA purposes for work. I test drove them for a few days before handing them over.
I daily drive an s24 ultra so I'm a fan of big phones already.
The use case for the fold is for anything where you would rather have a tablet. Some people would rather consume media on a bigger device. The real downside to me with the fold was the thickness while folded. It was uncomfortably thick in my pocket. And then of course there's the inability to have any decent protection on the phone, and the lack of water resistance.
Now the flip on the other hand, I really enjoyed that device. It opened up to the same size as a decently large phone, you could fold it up and throw it in your pocket, It was protected.
They're both too damn expensive. You could buy the biggest baddest flagship phones with the most beautiful screens and cameras for the same price as something that just folds up a little smaller in your pocket.
Writing this from my first ever large foldable I got just a few days ago: They're cool! The large screen is great for watching videos, reading a book or playing a game! Browsing the web is also pretty sweet.
And the Flip foldables are really great for small pockets, had one previously.
great for watching videos
...how, exactly? Other than the models that fold like an old clamshell, none of the phones I've seen make the screen wider, they just make it square. But in either case, you would have the exact same screen size with a normal phone, it would just the half the thickness and wouldn't have a seam down the middle. I guess if you a connoisseur of old 4:3 TV shows it could be nice.
They look flash as heck.
Idk man, IMO considering og flipphones they look kinda silly
Flippers that transforms into ultra-widescreen. So hot.
One reason why I can never go back to non-foldables: restaurant menus. (Or any document/book reading, for that matter.)
It's amazing for videos and games too.
I have a mini iPad in my pocket when I want a bigger screen and finally have a phone I can use with one hand. I can't go back lol
royale?
In the US, they were called Quarterpounder Technologies.
With Cheese LLC
I was confused but In the article it says foldable smartphone.
It says foldable phone in the title. Do you mean that you were unsure if it was a portable smartphone or a landline phone?
I was thinking when cell phones first became foldable
Were there any non-smartphone foldable makers?
Lots. They were called flip phones.
So... they were not called foldables? Meaning there were no foldable manufacturers?
Was always a gimmick IMO.
I went without a foldable for two weeks once and it was incredibly frustrating. Couldn't get used to not being able to open the phone to get a closer look at pictures and restaurant menus. The zoom-and-scroll technique on a tiny phone screen is annoying as hell once you're used to not having to do it anymore. I can never go back to a non-foldable ever again. Thankfully used ones are pretty affordable. Just upgraded my Samsung Fold 3 to a Fold 4 for only $400.
My folded phone is worse in every way to a regular phone. It is a gimmick.
May not be one day but currently not there.
My folded phone is worse in every way to a regular phone. It is a gimmick.
And my pixel 9 pro fold is better in every way than the Samsung galaxy S20 5g. Especially for my use-case where I remote into other computers/servers quite often. Hell my samsung fold 4 was better too. Though I like the pixel more.
For me it's not a gimmick. It's significantly made me more effective at my job when bringing a laptop isn't a valid option.
Neat. My signal is worse, my phone collects dust inside the hinge and I have had to replace so many screen protectors as well as deal with the fact that the front screen is narrower and thus makes typing on it worse and creates typos now a lot. And I still can't get a phone case for the life of me or it.
I prefer the fingerprint sensor not being under the screen for sure but that was solvable without needing it to fold.
I'm glad you are finding a use case but as someone that also remotes into PCs I actually just prefer to pull out a laptop. And I hate how the software often doesn't work seemlessly between open and close causing apps to restart and lose progress.
That's just my findings though. Didn't want previous commentor to feel alone among others praising it when I have found issues as well. We are all basing our feelings on these off emotions anyways. That makes it a gimmick in my eyes.
My Samsung definitely had issue with the interior screen protector... It's lifted at least twice on me. Samsung paid for both and took about an hour each time to replace at their authorized center.
I've had no issue finding cases for either phone though.
The samsung was narrower... the pixel fold isn't. The front screen is quite fat. almost too wide for me... but that might just have been me being used to the samsung.
And most of the time I prefer pulling out the laptop too. But the phone has definitely save me several times where laptop wasn't around and fixing it now could be 5 minutes vs driving an hour to get to my desktop/laptop and fixing it there.
They're not perfect, and not amazing for every use case... but I fit snugly into one use-case that has made them great for me. And since the pixel fold is GrapheneOS capable... I'm quite chuffed about it.
Yeah Samsung. So that is something we agree on.
The case is weird I don't want to buy a bulky one on Scamazon that pops free from the glue being cheap like the second case I tried to buy. So that is where I am at not being able to find them. I got gifted a case from Debrand and it literally wouldn't let the phone fold enough to trigger the sensor to turn off the interior screen.
Seems pixel is better, but I liked the Microsoft duo for being wider but that died hard.
They just don't feel like a permanent answer from the cell phone manufacturers.
But I'm glad they found a home with someone that gets the most out of it. Everyone has got unique needs I feel these are still just hyper specific.
The case is weird I donβt want to buy a bulky one on Scamazon that pops free from the glue being cheap like the second case I tried to buy.
If you're still searching... And don't need significant drop protection, look and see if "Thinborne" makes a case for your fold. I don't think they do on the older ones... but if you have a 5 or newer I think they do. I've had good results from them with the new pixel. And they're very very thin.
Do you run the stock OS, or GrapheneOS. Thier site says its available for the fold.
I'm on GrapheneOS. I harbor a deep distrust for Google overall... I couldn't have bought the phone if it didn't. I probably would have upgraded to the newest samsung fold if the pixel fold wasn't supported by grapheneOS.
Im still on thr Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS too. Am open to try a foldimg phone, but i chicken out at the price. I can double the power of my PC for the price of a Pixel fold in AUS.
That's a completely fair assessment. They're definitely still quite expensive.
But I already have a 7950x3d and a 7900xtx... My machine is as good as it's getting. I had the budget, and have some needs that the larger screen meets.
Has it been worth it? Eh... situationally it's been super nice. But I can't say it's been worth the extra $600 I paid above the next flagship spec quite yet. My first samsung fold though... Verizon paid for me previous phone and paid me more than I paid for it... So that one was definitely worth it.