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?
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.
What pockets do you have?
Jokes on you, I’m a loony toon. /s
Totally missed the pocket bit. Disregard my previous comment, lol.
You telling me you don’t rock South Pole?
Not even those could fit a laptop 🤣
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
as with all technology though, as they become more accessible with newer models being made and other companies making foldables, the price for the same kind of quality product we have today will inevitably be less in the future.
this is already happening with cpu performance, display quality, etc… it’s finally very affordable to get a 120 hz phone with a fantastic display and snappy processor, specifically thinking of something like the Galaxy A54 or Pixel 8 (on a sale)
a general rule i use regarding technology purchasing is that newest featured top of the line products are best left to rich people who can afford it, as badly as i might want it.
this goes for cars, phones, etc… one benefit to this is that it gives the product time to become not just more affordable, but better quality as well.
the earliest foldables cracked at their fold points, but Samsungs newest fold phone survived JerryRigEverythings bend test which is impressive.
in a few more years, this quality will surely be available at sub 1000 dollar prices, containing the most modern hardware which will be even better than is available now.
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.
It’s a laptop, tablet, phone, and notepad
Has no keyboard, mouse or touchpad so it’s not a laptop
Too small to be a tablet or a Notepad. Not that I care for tablets in the first place.
Too big to be a phone.
Not to mention insanely expensive.
They’re supposed to be “great for media consumption” but the square aspect ratio means it’s usually not much bigger anyway. And I don’t consume media on my phone either. That’s what 75" TVs are for.
Not saying you’re wrong. To each their own. Just my 2 cents.
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.
I’m a programmer and I need three screens to work effectively (otherwise I get into 8+ virtual desktops). However, I’m using a Minisforum UM790 Pro and not a laptop, because what’s the point in having another screen I don’t use and a keyboard that’s awful.
Someone else I know rocks a laptop as a daily driver, but it needs to be docked, with 3 monitors to be fully useful.
That’s how I do it. Only it’s a single 32:9 monitor. Gaming PC has been relegated to the living room. Single cable to dock the laptop. Gets unplugged when I leave the house. Anything that needs power gets remoted into the gaming PC.
I just use a normal phone (Pixel 7a)
For media consumption and stuff I have a rooted Lenovo Tab M9 running a LineageOS GSI
Android runs almost all USB keyboards and mice or touch pads, you can totally have that as an option for your phone. And it’s like 50 bucks to get a powered hub that can also charge the phone OTG while connecting all those USB devices at once.
It is the same size as as the common smaller form factor tablets have been for a decade. And note pads also have been coming in this size for over a century.
It is smaller than the average phone when folded into phone mode. Especially if we are not only talking smart phones, but even if.
They are indeed relatively more expensive right now, I got mine “open box” for half off, and it was about the price of a contemporary regular smart phone then. But they won’t always be this much more expensive.
You are not always near your 75 inch TV. It’s nice to have an acceptable option when out and about. Fold 4 also has spacial audio, you get your head about a foot away from those speakers in horizontal tablet mode, and boom, the virtual surround sound is surprising. (Anyone who has one and hasn’t tried it yet, take this moment to try it out then come back) (it’s pretty crazy, right?)
It is what we claim it is. Just my 2 cents. I hope eventually the price gets to a place where more people can choose it without having to worry about whether they can justify it.
Android runs almost all USB keyboards and mice or touch pads
Yes but they don’t come with one attached like a laptop.
It is the same size as as the common smaller form factor tablets
Galaxy Fold has a 7.3" screen, which is barely larger than some of the non-folding displays. The iPad Mini has an 8.3". That’s about as small as they come and still significantly larger.
It is smaller than the average phone when folded into phone mode
Not in external dimensions it’s not.
They are indeed relatively more expensive right now
The tablet style ones are approximately double the price of a traditional phone. Or more depending on which ones you’d like to compare. I wouldn’t call that “relatively expensive”. That’s just expensive.
I got mine “open box” for half off, and it was about the price of a contemporary regular smart phone then.
And you could have gotten a “normal” phone for half of that, open box. Or 1/4 the price of a folding phone.
You are not always near your 75 inch TV.
And I don’t always consume media 🙂. Again, speaking for myself here.
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
I’ll trade you my 3D TV for one.
Hey, old 3D TV’s are great…
…As computer monitors. Lots of PC games can be bullied into displaying stereoscopic 3D in one way or other.
I’ll trade you two Betamax, an HD-DVD player, and one 8-track of PeeWee Herman performing “Tequila” for your 3D TV.
If I had a 3d tv I’d happily do this deal
This article seems to only talk about the ones that fold like a book, and not on the ones that fold like a clam. I don’t get the fixtation on that design - at this point it’s more of a tablet than a phone, and for a tablet it’s pretty small. When opened, the Samsung Z Flip has the dimensions of a smartphone - which means you can put it to your ear or operate it with one hand. You can’t do that with the Z Fold - it’s too wide. Also, the Samsung Z Flip costs half as much as the Z Fold - which is still not cheap, but it’s not that much more expensive than Samsung’s regular flagship phone with the same specs. So I assume affordable flip smartphones should be possible - maybe not this year, but probably soon enough.
Z Flips sell twice as much as Z Folds - all while Samsung is spending most of the marketing effort on pushing the Fold. Maybe if they focused on the Flip instead they could have made this one “a thing”?
The tablet thing is the point I like about my foldable phone. I couldn’t be bothered to carry a tablet with me, but the Fold fits in my pocket without any issues and I love the bigger screen. If I have to use my phone with one hand, I just use the outside screen (which to be fair hasn’t the best aspect ratio).
It’s odd that we should need to spell out that different devices are designed for different kinds of users with different use cases.
Anyone who is interested in a foldable. Check eBay or Swappa. I was really surprised to find them 2nd hand for like 600-800. Which is crazy considering how much they sell for new.
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.
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.
It’s nice for the few non shitty games that also scale well on the display.
Also watching videos while doing chores, quite convenient.
How are you watching videos while doing chores?
Dishes being an obvious one, just looking up every now an then, I mostly listen/watch long form yt
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.
What not get a tablet/ laptop hybrid. Two birds one stone.
That’s a tablet with a keyboard case
Well no. Like the Microsoft surface. It’s a laptop that can be hard as tablet. As powerful enough to do plenty of computer tasks.
I’m studying at the moment, so I do a -lot- of research. A tablet + stylus is perfect for me for taking notes on top of lecture slides and reading / annotating pdfs. A folding form factor would be really useful for me, so I wouldn’t have to carry around a second device.
Got it. That’s the exact reason I got a folding laptop with a stylus. Annotating and highlighting in pdfs with a pen and typing on a proper keyboard. Once you get used to carry a bag (I used to hate doing that) a smaller laptop can hitch a ride for free.
Same. It seems to fall into the niche crack.
Maybe to watch things if you don’t have a tv. Maybe to play games again without tv. Portable if you move around a lot.
I can’t justify the price for a large screen. I have a larger screen. It’s the tv. I have a work laptop and I have a phone.
If anything I’d be pushing for work laptop to disappear. If I could get a virtual computer. I just need a screen to use. Already got a monitor plus wireless keyboard and mouse.
Virtue desktops should be the future
For me it was mainly gaming. Can run two full apps, both in real time, not that thing where it suspends one with a static image when you touch the other one. They both actually run at the same time, full frame rate. The fold 4 in tablet mode “wide” screen is pretty close to 4:3, so it’s nice for emulating console and computer games from that era, which I do alot. And the tablet in tall mode is a great size/shape for reading, can even leave it slightly folded down the middle for the real book feel, lol. And the battery life they manage to pack into both halves of the phone is pretty great. But most importantly, putting it back in my pocket when not using it. Carrying even a small tablet around all day would not be awesome otherwise.
I should mention I am 6’4" with relatively large hands, so fold 4 still feels pretty small to me, before I got the handle case I had to make due with palming it when I wanted to hold it one-handed. It’s decently comfortable for me to palm it in vertical tablet mode, but horizontal tablet mode while still possible, wasn’t comfortable. But with the handle case, it would be comfortable for almost anyone to hold it with one hand.
One of the things I was most worried about was that the screen crease would be visible, or that it would get annoying to play games where you gotta move your finger accross it. Luckily, the crease isn’t visible when you are straight head-on with the screen, only when you try to show other people stuff on your phone, lol. And even after more than a year of not treating the phone as anything special, the crease isn’t annoying to my fingers either. The original built-in screen protector did peel off from folding the phone alot when it was cold out(Canada), but I normally don’t use screen protectors, so I just left it unprotected. Not really sure what you have to do to your phone to benefit from screen protectors, I don’t baby mine, but I’ve never had a scratch. And screen protectors just feel so much worse to use than the naked screen does.
Might be a good time to mention I am autistic and hypersensory, so there is nothing mild about mildly annoying things to me, lol.
Well, it sounds like a good device for you then. Personally I want to be able to use my phone with one hand, so I want to be able to reach the entire screen with the thumb of the hand that is holding the bare phone.
It has the outer screen too for when you want a one-hander. Though you’d have to go with either fold 5 or one of the other brands to get a better outer screen, fold 4 and lower were not particularly useful there. Too skinny. I pretty much only ever use the outer screen for actual phone calls. You can transition from tablet to phone while already having answered the call with no issues.
And as with all larger phones, you always have the option of going into “one-handed mode” using whatever shortcut you assigned(either diagonal swipe or triple tap home are the defaults). It’s less necessary when you just have the option of a smaller one handed screen on the outside, but still there if you’d rather that option.
I tried using it for a few months. too many compromises to battery life, the main screen crease etc. just sitting in the closet now. I’ll check back when diverging actually good comes out. flop 4
I have 2 uses for a tablet, and know 2 other uses. They’re pretty niche.
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you can use it to get AT&T to sell you an unlimited 5g data sim for $20 a month and pop that into a hotspot if you need to work while being driven in a car or in more locations than there’s necessarily easy or cheap wifi.
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Reading Manga / Comics. I do read some on my phone, but the ability to see the “full page” on a 6.7" phone aspect narrow screen vs a 10" wider aspect tablet screen is surprisingly large, and my eyes are getting worse, not better as I age. Teeny tiny is not the best experience.
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Using them as cheaper wacom tablets for drawing / artists.
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Work provided portable tools for all sorts of stuff that doesn’t have any SIM or monthly fee needed / requested, and something that inherently isn’t a phone.
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I thought the same but they’re great for using at home. My wife watches movies on it in the kitchen, my kid loves it for games, I like it for controlling house stuff like IoT, smart home stuff, and apps for home electronics. It’s not too different from smart watches where you don’t need anything it offers, but it makes things more convenient.
Now the people who take their tablet to Disneyland to take pictures are just plain crazy and shouldn’t be lumped in with the rest of us.
Tablets are much better than phones at trying to do things that are meant to be done in a full computer, while being much more more portable than computers. It’ll never be as good as PCs but to some people that’s not a big price to pay for the portability.
So virtual desktop?
I think people like tablets a lot more than virtual desktops judging by the sales numbers.
True. But more so you need companies to get into it. They are the ones buying. Plus you would computer-literate staff to get a router with the capability to run a secure VPN. I don’t even know if it’s possible. I don’t see why not. But maybe bandwidth isn’t capable
You can take my foldable out of my cold dead hands!
which one do you have?
zFold 4
I still haven’t seen a legitimate use case for a flip phone that is 100% screen on the inside.
Takes up less pocket space and the primary screen is more protected.
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!
2.76 aspect ratio movies?
I’ll tell you what I’d do man, two movies at the same time, man.
Fuckin-A
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.
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.
Your wife must be doing something wrong. My Fold 3 has been pristine without a case since I purchased it on day one.
Maybe, probably some trick in the way it gets opened. Or maybe that we live in an arid climate?
That could very well be. Never lived in such a climate.
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.
Based on this article consumers overall agree with you. I’m not a fan. But my wife has a real good reason. Pockets in women’s clothes suck as they are tiny or non existent and modern smart phones even the small ones never fit. But her phone when folded does.
I imagine we’ll go through this dance of yearly replacements until T-Mobile gets sick of it 😂
I miss the days of tiny phones. I still use an iPhone 12 mini and it’s nearly impossible to find modern Android phones with less than a 6” screen. I don’t understand the obsession with enormous screens. Sure the flagship models could have big screens to pack in bigger batteries and more powerful components—but why is no one making a 4” phone?
Yeah I wonder as well. My wife would rather have that but there are no choices like that anymore. What we used to consider ridiculously huge, because tablets started at 7" became the norm. To think my phone is almost the size of an entry level tablet not that long ago is wild.
I had that issue with mine, turns out there’s a screen protector on the screen when you get it. once I peeled it off I was good as new, although now the screen itself is starting to wear.
Didn’t the folding phones originally get destroyed by people removing the factory screen protector?
Yup!
Wait, the screen cracks? Or the screen protector? The protectors are known to crack in about a year, but those are cheap and easy to replace, or if you aren’t worried about scratches, just peel it off when it cracks and don’t replace it, screens feel much nicer without the protectors.
Yeah just the protector, Samsung says not to replace it yourself but have a professional do it and since we have the warranty we just can T-Mobile. We keep expecting them to send us to a store to have an employee fix it but they just keep replacing the phone instead. So weird.
Honestly, unless they come out unlocked for like sub $300 I’m unlikely to want to get one as I have had no problem using sub $300 new phones for 4 years now. And no interest in spending more for a tablet - I’ve gotten tablets for sub $250 for like 8 years now and they are good for my needs.
Unless I can get it used for 20 bucks and a handy thrown in, NO SALE. Like hombre, you’re not the target market for any of this.
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.
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Meanwhile my dad can’t get enough of his Zflip or whatever the smaller one is. Even with the screen starting to wear in the middle, it’s lasted longer than his other phones because the folding means it doesn’t get banged around.
Same goes with mentions of physical keyboards, all I get is flashbacks of my dad angry that his sausage fingers (tilesetter) can’t hit the buttons before touchscreen keyboards with bigger buttons hit.
How about a phone that unfolds to 2.39:1 ratio such as 2.95*7.05 and folds to roughly half that.
I just want a phone without a front camera
That’s interesting. Why?
Same. I’m not into selfies. I just want my keyboard.
Is that because of the bump it causes, or something else?
I never used it and I don’t like screens with a notch.
Oh, silly me - I misread it as the rear facing camera :)
Notches suck, they’re just an anti feature, but considering the vapid selfie generation, I suspect they get a lot of use
I don’t take selfies, and certainly don’t post them to social media, but I still use my front facing camera all the time. Zoom/Teams/WhatsApp video calls are a big part of modern life. That’s what the camera’s actually for, in the context of being a “phone”.
Yeah that’s valid, for sure
My bank requires it for certain actions, where I have to put my face into the frame and blink.
~the vapid selfie generation~ is such a Boomer phrase lmao
Nice! I’m no boomer but I’m very cynical, maybe there’s a Venn diagram there somewhere
I’ve been using the z flip 4 for over a year now. I think that is what it’s called… I won’t go back. The foldable phone is awesome.
I’ve got my Fold 3 and it’s amazing. Are there compromises? Absolutely. Are they worth it, also yes.
I’ve always been the type to upgrade my phone every year, but I’m thoroughly satisfied with this device after 2 years, and don’t see myself replacing it anytime soon.
The biggest thing foldables need now isn’t new features and spec bumps. What they need is a significant price cut.
Full-size foldable phones still costing $1800 5 years in is why they’re such a tiny market share.
Agree, it’s hard to imagine not having a fold after using it for a bit
What’s holding me back is that I’m worried the fold line would be too distracting, or would get worse over time.
I also love my s23 pen
That’s what I thought originally, but the fold is not noticeable at all when you look square at it, as far as how it feels to move your finger over it, it feels like a small tactile bump. Feels nice actually. I use a membrane screen protector and foldable case with no issues, over the last year there has been no degradation of the “crease” or the folding mechanism.
That’s good to know! Glad to hear it’s working for you
Honestly, there’s a completely unfulfilled market for smart phones with physical keyboards right now and fuck capitalism for not meeting this need more efficiently
N900 gang represent
I love my flip phone. I’d love a phone with a hardware keyboard even more, but at least a folding flip phone is interesting in a sea of rectangles.
Having more mainstream keyboard options would be nice to have.
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!
We have come full circle to what smartphones we’re like 10 years ago.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/top-smartphones-qwerty-keypad-152557008.html
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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.
