Phones Folding phones the next frontier

[Ralfi]

What are some of the perceived weaknesses of Samsung foldables beyond different OS preference?

Common 'misses' in reviews;
Camera (telephoto).
Flex mode.
Speaker placement.

Not sure where the promise is from Apple or the addressable weaknesses they may tackle

Apple will have their own weaknesses anyway. & if they address none of Samsung's, it'll be a harder sell. But it'll still sell.

Good people hold your fire

You're asking too much 😏

I’m interested in the reactions… especially from those naysayers who questioned the existence of a foldable and criticized them every chance they get.

You won't hear much from the 'Foldables are a solution to a problem no one's interested in' crowd.
(or whatever it is they've said for years).

 

[NeonNights]

Common 'misses' in reviews;
Camera (telephoto).
Flex mode.
Speaker placement.

But the initial foldable iPhone is also expected to lack a telephoto camera.

Flex mode is nice to have but not a dealbreaker.

I would say speaker placement is subjective and dependent on how you hold the phone majority of the time. And folks can always pair to earbuds or other speakers for better sound.

If those are the worst quibbles that reviewers complain about then I think the Fold 8 is doing pretty great. I would've liked to have the telephoto lens, but noticed in some other reviews that the Fold 8 still offers 1x, 2x, 4x, and 10x zoom. I think the 4x and 10x are digital crops though. In any case, Samsung and Apple are probably reserving the optical telephoto for a future generation.

 

[SteveJUAE]

But the initial foldable iPhone is also expected to lack a telephoto camera.

Flex mode is nice to have but not a dealbreaker.

I would say speaker placement is subjective and dependent on how you hold the phone majority of the time. And folks can always pair to earbuds or other speakers for better sound.

If those are the worst quibbles that reviewers complain about then I think the Fold 8 is doing pretty great. I would've liked to have the telephoto lens, but noticed in some other reviews that the Fold 8 still offers 1x, 2x, 4x, and 10x zoom. I think the 4x and 10x are digital crops though. In any case, Samsung and Apple are probably reserving the optical telephoto for a future generation.

The IFold is also rumoured to have no FaceID which seems a deal breaker for many IPhone users

Not sue why speaker placement has come to the fore all of a sudden, maybe reviewers were struggling to find fault lol

The F8 can still do tent mode 🙂

 

[Ralfi]

But the initial foldable iPhone is also expected to lack a telephoto camera.

I was just listing the flaws commonly mentioned in many reviews.

iPhone Fold will have its flaws, as I mentioned.

Not sure why people are coming across defensive here. I was just answering a question.

The Fold 8 isn’t perfect. The first iPhone Fold will be far from perfect. Not sure what the big deal is by stating that.

The IFold is also rumoured to have no FaceID which seems a deal breaker for many IPhone users

Not sue why speaker placement has come to the fore all of a sudden, maybe reviewers were struggling to find fault lol

Again, I mentioned the iPhone will have its flaws 😂

I sense a tone here where I can’t even list negatives of this device without responses having a go at Apple’s yet to be released competitor..

 

[SteveJUAE]

I was just listing the flaws commonly mentioned in many reviews.

iPhone Fold will have its flaws, as I mentioned.

Not sure why people are coming across defensive here. I was just answering a question.

The Fold 8 isn’t perfect. The first iPhone Fold will be far from perfect. Not sure what the big deal is by stating that.


Again, I mentioned the iPhone will have its flaws 😂

I sense a tone here where I can’t even list negatives of this device without responses having a go at Apple’s yet to be released competitor..

Think your reading too much in to this. We simply noted, as you did not, that the IFold is rumoured to have similar "flaws" that you listed, if not more 😀

 

[Ralfi]

Think your reading too much in to this. We simply noted, as you did not, that the IFold is rumoured to have similar "flaws" that you listed, if not more 😀

Oh I think I know the anti-Apple vibe in here. It’s why i’ve muted a few.

I did note Apple will have its weaknesses, even if it wasn’t what was asked.

What was asked was what were the perceived weaknesses of the Fold 8, which I listed.

& then the next two responses were in defence of those weaknesses & of course negative comments of the yet to be released iPhone Fold.

It’s just as bad as those in the iPhone forum doing the opposite. You feel like you’ve hit at their soul by mere mentioning of others’ views that their device isn’t perfect 😂

 

[NeonNights]

There was no intended tone by my initial ask about perceived weaknesses, but rather genuine curiosity. And again, it wasn't my intent to "defend" anything or discredit your remarks, but simply to continue the conversation about the weaknesses becoming less and less significant...which is a good thing for consumers in general. Foldables are approaching a mature state, whether it's from Samsung or Apple.

I am all for Apple introducing a foldable and have been waiting for a long while. The foldable iPhone is the only reason I'd return to iOS. I don't really care for the whole "Apple vs Samsung" rhetoric because both companies make great products. I just choose which tool works best for me.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Oh I think I know the anti-Apple vibe in here. It’s why i’ve muted a few.

I did note Apple will have its weaknesses, even if it wasn’t what was asked.

What was asked was what were the perceived weaknesses of the Fold 8, which I listed.

& then the next two responses were in defence of those weaknesses & of course negative comments of the yet to be released iPhone Fold.

It’s just as bad as those in the iPhone forum doing the opposite. You feel like you’ve hit at their soul by mere mentioning of others’ views that their device isn’t perfect 😂

Your barking up the wrong tree here 🙂

I have already noted here https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/folding-phones-the-next-frontier.2410465/post-34720391 that I am buying the IFold on release, regardless of what weaknesses etc it may or may not have

I see no defensive position being taken other than your unfortunate misinterpretation of my reply to others

 

[Ralfi]

I don't really care for the whole "Apple vs Samsung" rhetoric because both companies make great products. I just choose which tool works best for me.

Exactly. As long as everyone can see that their own device isn’t perfect & don’t feel the need to be condescending to other people’s choices in just about every other post of theirs, then all good.

It seems some people can’t help themselves in this forum section. I come here to hear balanced views of innovative non-Apple products that influence the smartphone industry. Not frequent posts by people who clearly still have an Apple chip on their shoulder & aren’t just posting tongue in cheek.

——

Had a thought yesterday of whether Apple’s Fold could make or break the Foldable landscape? Worst case scenario it sells like the Vision Pro (or has high return numbers) & Apple scrap it at least for the time being. Does that mean other companies scale back their production or keep pushing on with it?

We’re going to have a larger sample size of whether the iPhone Fold works/survives in many people’s lives, so it could confirm how great a device it really is or highlight common deal-breaker issues that hamper its developmental worth to Apple & potentially others?

 

[Ludatyk]

Had a thought yesterday of whether Apple’s Fold could make or break the Foldable landscape? Worst case scenario it sells like the Vision Pro (or has high return numbers) & Apple scrap it at least for the time being. Does that mean other companies scale back their production or keep pushing on with it?

You probably thinking of the S25 Edge... that Samsung scrapped due to iPhone Air not selling well as expected, this situation is different because foldables have been in the industry for years.

And tbf, the S25 Edge wasn't doing the numbers that Samsung had hoped... the Fold 8 is. Only way you see some scaling back is from RAMaggedon concerns (price increase that will push consumers away).

We’re going to have a larger sample size of whether the iPhone Fold works/survives in many people’s lives, so it could confirm how great a device it really is or highlight common deal-breaker issues that hamper its developmental worth to Apple & potentially others?

The device is great... it's always going to be down to preference at the end of the day. Compromising will be have to made... do the user care about camera or are they willing to forgo top-tier camera for a 2-1 device. Face-ID will be a deal breaker for some as well... I don't think MagSafe will be a issue because you can always slap on a case to get that feature.

 

[SteveJUAE]

The device is great... it's always going to be down to preference at the end of the day. Compromising will be have to made... do the user care about camera or are they willing to forgo top-tier camera for a 2-1 device. Face-ID will be a deal breaker for some as well... I don't think MagSafe will be a issue because you can always slap on a case to get that feature

Don't forget the symmetry fans lol, they probably are not going to buy the IFold/Ultra but are going to gripe endlessly about what Steve Jobs would of done 😀

 

[NeonNights]

Approved for the Samsung Card. It turns out Cash Rewards can be applied as a statement credit:

Looks like I'll be applying the $200 statement credit towards Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, lol.

I wasn't planning to upgrade because my 2024 GWU still gets 3-3.5 full days between charges. However, today someone on Reddit said their 2024 GWU gets 3 days but their GWU 2 gets 6+ days under same use! That sealed it for me, especially when the Samsung Shop cart applied some new discount that wasn't reflected yesterday, bringing the GWU2 down from $345 to $225 after trade-in.

Then I applied almost $100 of existing Samsung Rewards from the TriFold, plus additional 5% off using the Samsung Card, and the GWU2 purchase will push me over the threshold to earn the $200 cashback bonus. Overall, the GWU2 will effectively be free (after trade-in) with extra cashback left over towards statement credit. Lastly, SamsungCare+ is surprisingly cheaper for the GWU2 vs 2024 GWU ($3 vs monthly $5), so that will save a smidge more going forward.

 

[Tulani]

Any way to make notifications full size after upgrading to OneUI 8.5?

 

[Ludatyk]

Any way to make notifications full size after upgrading to OneUI 8.5?

Nah, Samsung decided to have a cohesive experience... sharing the same UI as their tablet.

Personally, I like it... but I can completely understand having a choice because that's what Samsung is known for. I would prefer them combing notifications and quick panel in a two column layout similar to the Pixel Fold... my guess this is them getting to that point.

 

[Tulani]

Nah, Samsung decided to have a cohesive experience... sharing the same UI as their tablet.

View attachment 2652537

Personally, I like it... but I can completely understand having a choice because that's what Samsung is known for. I would prefer them combing notifications and quick panel in a two column layout similar to the Pixel Fold... my guess this is them getting to that point.

View attachment 2652535

Nothing from GoodLock to help with that?