Huawei just released the Matepad Mini. Thing looks wild, love the overal design. Going to import it, 120hz with 1800 nits, OLED screen and GPS. Might use it as navigation inside my car.
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Phones Folding phones the next frontier
- Thread starter Tulani
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Wait, it's just a tablet? I kept waiting for it to fold or transform to something smaller, lol.
For that the Mate XT is your answer. I use it as a phone and fold it out to be a full screen sat nav in the car. Brilliant device.
I’m about to do something I never really considered before: I’m going to sell my OnePlus Open and switch to an iPhone 17 in white for at least a year (or longer, depending on how revolutionary the iPhone Fold turns out to be).
It’s been 8 years since I last used an iPhone. I’m not the kind of person who uses two or more phones-I find it a bit pointless to keep my OnePlus alongside, especially since with dual SIM you can’t have two 5G connections running simultaneously.
I expect I can still get around €800 for the OnePlus, which means this upgrade will cost me nothing, or at most about €50. Till next year guys.
It’s been 8 years since I last used an iPhone. I’m not the kind of person who uses two or more phones-I find it a bit pointless to keep my OnePlus alongside, especially since with dual SIM you can’t have two 5G connections running simultaneously.
I expect I can still get around €800 for the OnePlus, which means this upgrade will cost me nothing, or at most about €50. Till next year guys.
Good luck with the switch hopefully you enjoy iPhone only year ahead
Probably as good a time as any to give it a go, at least in regards to the hardware—the 17 looks very good. The lagging AI situation isn’t great though. Nice thing is you can reprogram the action button to open another AI/Assistant tool—have mine set to open Gemini Live.
Having used my Find N5 for 2 weeks I have to say device like this does not make a whole lot of sense at least to me. It has some advantages but almost all of them come with disadvantages such that in the end it's more like a wash so I see no reason to spend more money on a device like this.
The screen is big sure but I find more often than not that's actually a down side, not an advantage, because almost no software take proper advantage of this screen. Your most basic Youtube for example if I just use the normal outside screen I can see 2-3 videos at once on the home page, but guess what if I open it up, I only see one, because there's still just one single column of video feed but now much much bigger. Of course theoretically it could show me more stuff with more columns but in reality that's just not happening even with flagship apps like Youtube and Facebook.
Another obvious app to use with this is Google Sheets, but it also sucks because the title bar, tool bars etc on the top and bottom of the screen are so huge they take up like 1/3 the screen area whereas if you are on a normal phone screen they take up 10%, so the actual screen real estate difference is not nearly as large as double. In fact it's not that different from a big phone turned side ways, so again what's the point here?
This layout problem is not just limited to apps, most websites don't get any better with the big screen, in fact most of them get worse because they don't give you more columns, so things just get bigger and you can see less at a time. Some websites are even bugged and they give you LESS columns with the big screen.
two apps side-by side, it does take the most advantage of the available screen area and form factor but I really don't know why I would ever want to do that, switching back and forth between two apps is lightning fast on any normal phone so side-by-side offers minimal advantages. Plus now your keyboard is also twice as large where as with a normal phone switching to the other app also closes the keyboard so you can see the entire thing.
Finally there's the "parallel view" thing some Chinese apps do with folding phones, basically it's two phone screens but the left screens shows the last page you were on. So for example if you're on Amazon and you open one product, instead of the product page taking over, it opens on the right, and you still have the product list on the left which you can scroll or open another product. This is very easy to implement for existing phone apps but again it's not that great. switching your eyeball and attention from the two pages also takes a bit of time, which makes it not that much better than switching app or just going back on a normal phone.
Watching videos, again it's not that great, because the screen is square, it's not that much bigger than a normal big phone, unless you're into retro 4:3 video for some reason. Again there's a sacrifice here in sound quality due to the thinner construction, and to me, most of the time when I'm watching a YouTube video on my phone, the sound is probably more important than having a big screen, so I really think the experience is not any better overall.
For the last couples years I've sometimes carried an extra iPad mini which fits nicely in a bag, it's a separate device but the screen really is significantly bigger with good layouts and usable real estate. The dual device combo costs about the same or less than a single foldable, and the iPad has better speakers than foldables, so I just think that makes more sense.
Lastly there are hardware compromises with the foldable that make it slightly worse of a normal phone, the button placements are just bad. Because you can't have buttons on the hinge, everything has to be on the right side, including the fingerprint sensor power button, which takes a lot of mental gymnastics to figure out which fingers you want to record in it so you can unlock it with one action in every scenario. An apple foldable will surely have FaceID but how would that work if it has two screens? have two sets of FaceID? I don't think so.
The screen is big sure but I find more often than not that's actually a down side, not an advantage, because almost no software take proper advantage of this screen. Your most basic Youtube for example if I just use the normal outside screen I can see 2-3 videos at once on the home page, but guess what if I open it up, I only see one, because there's still just one single column of video feed but now much much bigger. Of course theoretically it could show me more stuff with more columns but in reality that's just not happening even with flagship apps like Youtube and Facebook.
Another obvious app to use with this is Google Sheets, but it also sucks because the title bar, tool bars etc on the top and bottom of the screen are so huge they take up like 1/3 the screen area whereas if you are on a normal phone screen they take up 10%, so the actual screen real estate difference is not nearly as large as double. In fact it's not that different from a big phone turned side ways, so again what's the point here?
This layout problem is not just limited to apps, most websites don't get any better with the big screen, in fact most of them get worse because they don't give you more columns, so things just get bigger and you can see less at a time. Some websites are even bugged and they give you LESS columns with the big screen.
two apps side-by side, it does take the most advantage of the available screen area and form factor but I really don't know why I would ever want to do that, switching back and forth between two apps is lightning fast on any normal phone so side-by-side offers minimal advantages. Plus now your keyboard is also twice as large where as with a normal phone switching to the other app also closes the keyboard so you can see the entire thing.
Finally there's the "parallel view" thing some Chinese apps do with folding phones, basically it's two phone screens but the left screens shows the last page you were on. So for example if you're on Amazon and you open one product, instead of the product page taking over, it opens on the right, and you still have the product list on the left which you can scroll or open another product. This is very easy to implement for existing phone apps but again it's not that great. switching your eyeball and attention from the two pages also takes a bit of time, which makes it not that much better than switching app or just going back on a normal phone.
Watching videos, again it's not that great, because the screen is square, it's not that much bigger than a normal big phone, unless you're into retro 4:3 video for some reason. Again there's a sacrifice here in sound quality due to the thinner construction, and to me, most of the time when I'm watching a YouTube video on my phone, the sound is probably more important than having a big screen, so I really think the experience is not any better overall.
For the last couples years I've sometimes carried an extra iPad mini which fits nicely in a bag, it's a separate device but the screen really is significantly bigger with good layouts and usable real estate. The dual device combo costs about the same or less than a single foldable, and the iPad has better speakers than foldables, so I just think that makes more sense.
Lastly there are hardware compromises with the foldable that make it slightly worse of a normal phone, the button placements are just bad. Because you can't have buttons on the hinge, everything has to be on the right side, including the fingerprint sensor power button, which takes a lot of mental gymnastics to figure out which fingers you want to record in it so you can unlock it with one action in every scenario. An apple foldable will surely have FaceID but how would that work if it has two screens? have two sets of FaceID? I don't think so.
I’ve never used any of the Chinese foldables so any features/flaws specific to them I’ll abstain from commenting. My experience with foldables is limited to the first two iterations from Google. Any examples to follow are from my current Pixel 9 Pro Fold.
- My Youtube experience sounds very different from yours. Are you using the webpage or the app? When using the app, on the outside screen I’ll see either 2 shorts and 1 or 2 long form videos or can preview 3 long form videos. When I open it up, I see 6 shorts and parts of 4 long form videos. If I select a video it’s obviously much larger with the standard video feature buttons and other suggested videos than can be scrolled. If I rotate the phone 90 degrees, the video moves to the top left third with right side column available for suggested videos, more info, or comments.
- Maybe the issue with Google Sheets is specific to you device? I don’t use it regularly but just installed/opened a files and the toolbars take up very little space on my inner screen. Opened Excel and same situation, barely more than the equivalent of a couple rows of a spreadsheet. Between the upper and lower toolbars I see 20 rows and 6 columns by default.
- Websites are setting their layout specific to the device. Try selecting the Desktop site option in your browser—that should often make better use of the display.
- I uses the side-by-side apps layout quite frequently. Often two webpages side-by side, or 1Password on the right to look up info for input into a webpage or app. I’ll have any number of apps open together (To Do, OneNote, Spark email, 1Password, Calendar, Messages, Authy. Sometimes I’ll rotate the Fold 90 degrees and have an app open below a YouTube video.
- Watching video—you’re not wrong. On it’s own, a video isn’t that much larger because of the squarish aspect ratio but as I mentioned, it’s now feasible to have another app open above or below it. Or I can bend the fold 90 degrees to use the phone as its own kickstand and have the video playing on the top half.
- Yes, an iPad Mini is a larger tablet experience but the two-in-one is the point of this device. I don’t often carry my backpack but with the foldable format, I have two devices in my pocket. That’s thr benefit—I don’t always have to carry two devices with me. I go to the gym, track my workouts and listen to music with the device closed but then can open it up for a larger viewing experience while I’m on the bike, treadmill, rower, etc.
- Again, can’t comment on the buttons on your device but I find them perfectly placed on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The fingerprint sensor in the power button is perfectly placed for either my thumb when holding in my right hand or either index or middle finger on my left hand. What mental gymnastics? Five saved fingerprints aren’t enough to cover any fingers you may use? And the Pixel 9 Pro Fold does have facial recognition for unlocking as well as biometrics in apps, either on the outer display or inner display. Rumor is the Foldable iPhone will not have FaceID, either because the hardware is too cumbersome for a thin form factor or by choice to pinch as many pennies as possible.
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I'm downloading a 432mb update to my Fold 5. I can't wait to see if it's something interesting.
Edit: Just a security update.
Edit: Just a security update.
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sounds like there are device specific layout optimizations with the Pixel that's not applied on other Android devices, but there's no way I'm gonna get a Pixel because of the pathetic processors Google has. Strangely, Youtube will show premium controls if you fold the device half way like a mini laptop, so it does know it's on a foldable, but still only one video thumbnail at a time at the Home Screen.
I always carry a small bag because I can't fit my wallet and car keys in my pocket or at least they'll be too bulky anyway so adding an iPad mini to it is almost no extra hassle for me.
on the n5 there's a volume rocket at the very top, above the power button, which is unheard-of in any slab device. the power button is also quite high. sure I could just save like every possible finger in it, that seems like a hassle and security risk to me though. so I spent some time figuring out the 3 most common scenarios I would pick up the phone and saved those ones only. You could also set up simple camera based unlock but I don't like half-assed features, it's either faceID or fingerprint, or nothing. Having more combinations of insecure unlocking methods create security risks.
I really like the outside folding design over the inside folding, because an outside folding phone would only have one screen and can use one set of front facing cameras. And I'm expecting the Apple device to be outside folding for that reason alone.
I have never dabbled with it Haha
maybe check it out one day 
I'm watching some potential changes leaked for 8.5
Yeah, I peeped a couple days from SamMobile. I like the potential changes with extra customization on Quick Panel tiles. But I’m still waiting for Samsung to offer more optimization for the Galaxy Fold.
Not sure if you seen it already… but there’s a floating notification panel for the Galaxy tablets.
Samsung is fixing notifications for Galaxy tablets in One UI 8 [Gallery]
Samsung is making an overdue change to notifications in One UI 8 on Galaxy tablets, finally forgoing a ton of wasted screen space.
9to5google.com
I want Samsung to differentiate the experience more on the inner screen for the Galaxy Fold… urging for them to just place Notification on the left and Quick Panel on the right when swiping down. It’s a no-brainer type of move!
You should really try it! I don’t use it often… normally my portable monitor is attached to the iPad when away from the desk, but I load up DeX every now and then to see what changes have been made.I have never dabbled with it Hahamaybe check it out one day
Yeah I think that would be a no-brainer for sure and would definitely welcome some more Galaxy fold optimizationYeah, I peeped a couple days from SamMobile. I like the potential changes with extra customization on Quick Panel tiles. But I’m still waiting for Samsung to offer more optimization for the Galaxy Fold.
Not sure if you seen it already… but there’s a floating notification panel for the Galaxy tablets.
Samsung is fixing notifications for Galaxy tablets in One UI 8 [Gallery]
Samsung is making an overdue change to notifications in One UI 8 on Galaxy tablets, finally forgoing a ton of wasted screen space.
I want Samsung to differentiate the experience more on the inner screen for the Galaxy Fold… urging for them to just place Notification on the left and Quick Panel on the right when swiping down. It’s a no-brainer type of move!
You should really try it! I don’t use it often… normally my portable monitor is attached to the iPad when away from the desk, but I load up DeX every now and then to see what changes have been made.
Thanks for the heads up, @Ludatyk! I have been distracted laptop shopping and haven't been keeping up on the phone scene.
OneUI 7 must be finally settling in because lately I've been getting really good battery life by the end of the day, equivalent to OneUI 6. Hope OneUI 8 does even better.
OneUI 7 must be finally settling in because lately I've been getting really good battery life by the end of the day, equivalent to OneUI 6. Hope OneUI 8 does even better.
I didn't realize it wasn't setup that way on the Folds. Pixel Folds have it flipped--quick settings and media playback on the left, notifications on the right. It's great..terrible waste of space otherwise.Yeah, I peeped a couple days from SamMobile. I like the potential changes with extra customization on Quick Panel tiles. But I’m still waiting for Samsung to offer more optimization for the Galaxy Fold.
Not sure if you seen it already… but there’s a floating notification panel for the Galaxy tablets.
Samsung is fixing notifications for Galaxy tablets in One UI 8 [Gallery]
Samsung is making an overdue change to notifications in One UI 8 on Galaxy tablets, finally forgoing a ton of wasted screen space.
I want Samsung to differentiate the experience more on the inner screen for the Galaxy Fold… urging for them to just place Notification on the left and Quick Panel on the right when swiping down. It’s a no-brainer type of move!
You should really try it! I don’t use it often… normally my portable monitor is attached to the iPad when away from the desk, but I load up DeX every now and then to see what changes have been made.
I thought the same thing once. And then I actually used one.
Well, tbf... it's Samsung following after Apple. The iPad has a similar setup where they have swipe down for notifications and one for Control Center... when i think Pixel did it the best (combining them both).
But at least Apple is putting more information in the notification center... since now there is a widgets area, so the space isn't going completely to waste. I think eventually Samsung is going to give us that option... just haven't gotten there yet.
Floating notifications or dual pane with notifications and quick setting, I'd take either one.