Smartphone manufacturers still want to make foldables a thing::Foldables are barely 1% of the market, but that’s not stopping anyone but Apple.
I love the foldable idea, but it’s well beyond what I’m willing to pay for the novelty.
Same! I had the LG v60 dual screen case, and loved it. Thats the farthest I’m willing to go, though. It was unwieldy, and almost impossible to use a popsocket with, no way to use a wallet case, et cetera. It’s not worth that price tag for less options just for the occasional use of a bigger screen.
Now, foldable tablet? That’s something I’d be down for (in theory. I am poor.). Closes up small enough for a pocket, folds out when you use it. Only screen on one side, so it can tossed in a bag without worrying about it, because it’s closed up and the screen is protected.
My galaxy fold is 100% a foldable tablet with a pen. When I travel for work, I’ve stopped bringing my laptop. Just the fold, Bluetooth keyboard, and mouse. It’s amazing
So…a touchscreen laptop?
What pockets do you have?
Yes. But smaller, and with a screen where the keyboard should be, and no bezel between the screens. Media consumption device, not something for any real productivity. Very lightweight, good for watching youtube or hulu, but clamshell so it protects the screen.
Yeah, the flip phones especially seem like a good form factor if they can make the price go down.
They already have. I think the Razr can be had at a reasonable price.
AUD 1400 is not a reasonable price to me.
Ah, sorry about that. Seems like all electronics gets way expensive in Australia. Motorola has em for sale for $499 USD (~$739 dollarydoos) here
I’ve been daily driving a folding phone for about 3 years now, and honest to God I’ll never buy a normal phone again. It’s a laptop, tablet, phone, and notepad (stylus) all in one. I couldn’t imagine going back.
Also, being able to open two full screen apps side by side becomes essential after you start to rely on it for work.
I get that they are expensive, but the price will come down eventually and the form factor is game changing from a usability perspective.
I feel like I’d feel similarly if I had a foldable, but the one guy I know who has one swears he’ll never buy one again. Granted, he got a gen 1 Galaxy Fold, so it’s got some major growing pains.
For what it’s worth, I decided to skip the fold 1 because of all the complaints about the sensitivity of the screen and how easy it was to break. I’ve been running the fold 3, and now the fold 5, and it’s been a tank, even with my two and four-year-old drawing on it using the stylist all the time. I think the newest versions have come a long way since the first version
I am also waiting to get one for my next phone. I’m hoping when I’m ready to upgrade things will be more durable. As someone who’s loved the Note series since my Note 2 I had, I’m a sucker for a bigger screen. I’ll probably never go back
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I’ve never tried a folding phone but to me it seems like a jack of all trades, master of none. The 4:3 aspect ratio, black bars on basically all videos, and easily damaged screen seem like big negatives.
I’d be interested to see if I’m wrong if I ever get a chance to use one.
Yea, the ability to replace a laptop for work is wildly dependent on the work you do. I need Windows or Linux and a keyboard and trackpad or mouse to even attempt to do my job. And it’s much easier with a desktop with lots of RAM and a 24" or larger monitor. Someone else I know rocks a laptop as a daily driver, but it needs to be docked, with 3 monitors to be fully useful.
If you don’t need programs that need a desktop OS (well written web apps only) and only need apps or say Zoom (and no real use of zoom chat or virtual backgrounds etc) then I can see a tablet working.
It’s a laptop, tablet, phone, and notepad The fact you can get all four of those for about the cost of one folding phone if you’re ok with off brands or slightly used really hurts the thing too.
Once they are cheaper and more durable I’ll buy one. Its still a new form factor that hasn’t been perfected yet, but that doesn’t mean its wrong for manufacturers to keep at it
To add to this my wife got the Samsung Flip or whatever, the one that folds like an old flip phone.
Every year she’s had to have it replaced because the screen cracks in the middle. Fortunately we have the insurance so it’s only $5 to replace it. She just got her third phone this week.
Yes! This! (For now) foldable phones are not a good idea imo. The consumers are using it casually and a lot of designers tend to forget that. It’s not about how it is intended to be used but how the majority is using it. Same with the stylus and the Note 5 in 2015. People inserted the pen backwards and broke the phone. Is it supposed to go in backwards? No. Will people do it accidentally if they are using the phone on a daily bases? Yes. It seems as if the durability tests aren’t adapted enough for new features.
Until phones with a foldable screen are robust enough for the average Joe(-anne) to use, I will not consider buying one, even though the concept seems very useful.
I’m waiting for them to find a better spot on durability, weight /bulkiness and hardware like cameras.
They’re still too big and bulky for me, the other components are usually a bit behind, and the screen durability seems a bit too eeh still.
Which is to say, I’m interested in one, but they’re not there yet for me.
I’m on a Fold 4, never going back. There are certainly a few tweaks here and there that could improve it, but a tablet that you put back in your pocket when you are done is the perfect phone so far. I don’t know what they would have to do to make something better than this, but I’m sure something will come along. Until then, not going back to a phone that can only be bar shaped.
What do people use tablets for? I really wanted to come up with an excuse to get one but no matter how hard I thought about it I couldn’t come up with a use case (for me at least). I want my phone to be smaller, not bigger.
The only advantage I see are movies, but then again for a static display I can just use my laptop or a TV.
I guess gaming could be something, if you’re into that. Personally all those microtransaction BS makes me steer clear of wanting any games on my phone.
Tablets are cheaper and lighter than laptops so if someone just wants to watch videos while traveling or commuting, a tablet is often a better option than a laptop.
Imo movies on anything smaller than 40" with a sweet sound system is blasphemy.
And I don’t play many games these days but when I do it’s on a proper PC for pretty much the same reason (plus the micro transactions as you mentioned).
Also, touchscreens drive me nuts for anything more advanced than like browsing Mastodon.
You can take my foldable out of my cold dead hands!
I still haven’t seen a legitimate use case for a flip phone that is 100% screen on the inside.
2.76 aspect ratio movies?
I’ll tell you what I’d do man, two movies at the same time, man.
Fuckin-A
Takes up less pocket space and the primary screen is more protected.
I had a Galaxy Flip because I liked the compact size when it was closed, fit really nice in my jeans. Totally useless otherwise though and after the included screen protector cracked, replaced and cracked again I gave it up.
You’re talking about the non-book style ones like the Motorola ones? Yea I have no fuckin clue either lmao, they’re cool and maybe has some “reliving the old days” going for it, but beyond that they seem pointless.
Book style ones like the Pixel Fold OTOH are amazing!
They’ll catch on and become highly desirable approximately 1 minute after Apple makes one.
I don’t give a flying fuck about foldable screens, give me a real keyboard. The bottom half of one of these flippable screens could totally fit rows of physical buttons!
Omg I can’t agree with this strongly enough. Just typing this comment I’ve had to manually correct multiple typos because even with haptic feedback and autocorrect I still end up with totally garbled text. I have never been able to get the hang of typing on a touch screen. Im still pining for the good old days of blackberries and slide out keyboards.
Hell, even a built in stylus like the galaxy note had would be a welcome fix to constantly fumbling with whatever keyboard I’m trying to make work at the moment.
That’s just Flip Phones with more steps.
I love the idea of big screen foldables. They are just way too expensive for me to justify. I’ve used the one plus open and man I really wish I could afford it. I do a lot of my mobile computing on my phone instead of a laptop and the foldables make it much more enjoyable.
Foldable phones are so fetch!
Stop trying to make “fetch” happen. It’s not going to happen.
I have no idea what “fetch” is supposed to mean but I don’t like it. It’s not putting any pussy on the chain wax.
Streets ahead!
I’ll trade you my 3D TV for one.
My main concern is durability. The inner screen is way too fragile to be used without giving it any thought. Until durability is addressed to a sufficient extent that the device hardware can outlast its software support with everyday use, I prefer to stay in candy bar phones without my tablet in tow.
I think foldables have found a niche market at the moment. People buy them, just not in the quantities the companies might want.
The main reasons for this are Samsung being stagnant on its innovation with foldables (Z flip 5 notwithstanding), much of the competition being limited to China only or aren’t being marketed at all, and the book style foldables all being overpriced (they still MSRP for $1700-$1800 plus 1000% storage markups, they should be aiming for a $1200-$1300 MSRP).
Here in the US, we have:
The usual Samsung foldables: The Z flip 5 which is a great device at on okay price, and I’ve seen a few of these (or the previous gens), notable because 85% of the devices I see are iPhones. The Z Fold 5 is stagnant and overpriced.
Pixel Fold: Hahahahaha it can’t even last a week before the screen dies lol lol haha
Moto Razr Flip 40 and its variations: Nobody knows that these phones exist, and the ones who do struggle to even find a place to buy the phone. On Amazon listing for the US version is blended with the international listings and is often out of stock, and Motorola’s website gives me an error when I try to get to the buying process on its phones. Also there’s like 3 different versions of this phone Real shame, because they are good phones for a great price if you can stomach the poor battery life.
OnePlus Open: Possibly the most innovative phone of 2023, this phone 1-ups the Z Fold line in nearly every way, although it’s still pricey. But again, basically nobody has even heard of this brand, much less this phone. They just believe Samsung is the only one that makes foldables while they choose to buy the latest iPhone.
Moto Razr 2020 foldable smartphone (a model earlier than the Razr Flip 40 you mentioned) can be had for $300 to $400 as a refurb/second hand. USA models for AT&T and T-mobile are very common.
I don’t find the battery life bad, but I may not be a heavy user by comparison. I love the small form factor, and unlike the Samsung Flip, the Razr doesn’t crease the screen (the hinge expands inside to keep it in a U spaced shape).
I don’t personally see the appeal of a foldable phone that folds out larger to a square aspect ratio, but ones that keep the normal smartphone aspect ratio (like Samsung flip and Moto Razr) and fold smaller are great!
Lastly, being able hang up the phone call by closing it is very satisfying.
Thinking of that one guy that lost their foldable to a grain of salt after eating something in the train while watching a movie on it and then closing the phone… I hope they never get a real thing
That’s unfortunate, I hope the tech progresses to a stage where a salt grain doesn’t render it useless.
I’m willing to buy one if:
- Main screen will be harder than LVL 2-3
- Have better battery life
- Cheaper
Literally none of those things will be true.
100% yes.
