It's nothing of the sort. It's a desperate grasp at having something new to sell, made by companies that happily throw away money at a chance for something new to sell. It is a solution in search of a problem. No obvious and immediate benefit. No demand whatsoever.This is literally a new and evolving product category. Samsung has done it 3 times and they have sold relatively well. Huawei has done it. Microsoft has done their own version of it, albeit not as well as one would have hoped. However, Microsoft is pretty good at improving products from one generation to the next, Surface Duo XBox anyone?
Apple will do this one day, and one of Apple's strengths is that they always seem to have the best first generation of a product, while others take a few iterations to really nail down the idea.
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Google 'Pixel Fold' to Use Ultra-Thin Glass, Still on Track for 2021 Release
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Folding phone: interesting, potentially a step up in smartphone usability
Concerns: yes
Current Status: me (and I expect most) will wait for the market to verify and vet mechanical and user functionality
If results are positive: Google and ____ and Apple will start mass producing these phones
If results are not positive: Google and ____ and Apple will produce few (it remains a niche as another poster called it)
Concerns: yes
Current Status: me (and I expect most) will wait for the market to verify and vet mechanical and user functionality
If results are positive: Google and ____ and Apple will start mass producing these phones
If results are not positive: Google and ____ and Apple will produce few (it remains a niche as another poster called it)
Well, that's certainly a take. You're completely wrong, but you do you. 😘
I'm sorry,
this is silliness and you should think before typing such nonsense
attempting invention and innovation and selling that is not a "Desperate grasp" unless you want to call the iPod, iPhone and well, jsut about every single technology innovation we've had over the course of human history a "desperate grasp for something to sell"
We heard the same stuff after the iPad launch. Even I was guilty of it. Tablets don't work for me, but they obviously work for millions of people!
Im exceptionally interested to see and understand what tech features this device will have, but unless it’s an Apple product, I don’t see myself diving in because of the variables with the hinge, the thickness, the battery power needed, etc. it’s a cool concept that some people have gotten use out of. Awesome, but I can’t see the purpose for my use.
I think you are underestimating the power of having a larger screen, but that's 100% just my personal opinion. We were all there when no one really thought phablets and larger sized phones would take off, and here we are today. It's just so incredibly early to see how much this will supplant current phones, we are kind of at the point where Phablets were when we had the Note 2, the Galaxy Mega, etc. Think about the Galaxy Mega for a second, it had a 6.3 inch screen, yet it was so bulky it was laughable to see anyone using it as a phone. The iphone 12 max has a 6.1 inch screen (although the difference is a bit more due to the different aspect ratios), but it's so sleek and minimalized that no one would think twice to see it on someones ear. Sure today's Galaxy Fold is clunky (although personally I don't think so, but I can see why others might), but that is not going to be true in the near future, whether is a thinner foldable, or another paradigm like a rollable. That's why I see throwing out this entire paradigm based on being short sighted today doesn't make sense, it would be like throwing out the paradigm of having a screen larger than 4 inches back in 2012 (yes the iPhone 5 had a 4 inch screen). Now besides the SE/mini lovers (although both those screens are larger than the IP5) do any current smartphone users think we should go back to 4 inch screens? Better yet do they think Apple should, based on profit margins, go back to 4 inch screens? The fact of the matter is that the only way to get larger screens is to somehow decrease their footprint.
You are also ignoring new uses, like that person that doesn't use a tablet at all. Why would they not want a larger screen? Of course then it's a battle between the larger screen and the drawbacks, but hasn't it always been that way? We are just at the start of this market and the drawbacks seem really big, just as they did back when the Galaxy Mega came out. Was the Mega a big hit? Hell no, but you can bet the iphone max's are a big hit. There is also no reason you can't use more than 2 devices, personally I used to walk around with an ipad mini because it fit into my back pocket, an iPhone and had a surface pro that I would use when I needed a full sized tablet for getting work done. Now I still have the mini/phone but they are combined into my Galaxy Fold, and I still have the surface pro when I need a full sized tablet. Of course extrapolating technological achievements one day we will most likely have a full sized tablet that shrinks down to today's smartphone sizes.
It's fascinating to me and I'm tempted, if I had more time, to pull out all the posts in 2012 of everyone saying "we don't need larger screens" and "larger screens are just a solution in search of a problem"
I have an Apple Watch SE, and iPhone 11, an iPad mini, a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and a 15-inch MacBook Pro.
When I'm on the tram, I typically carry my Watch and my iPhone. I don't tend to bring my iPads with me. Even the mini is too large.
But I've tried — the mini does fit in some of my jacket pockets. Then, when sitting on a tram seat, having that bigger screen of the iPad is nice when reading the morning news.
So.
In theory(!), an iPhone that unfolds to become an iPad mini would be pretty cool. I can imagine paying quite a premium for that ability.
In practice, I don't think any current foldable phone delivers on that promise.
Are you a guy? I would love to know what pockets you speak of can carry a mini. I hate my clothes.
Just curious where you see todays foldables not deliver on that promise? I definitely respect users who say that the technology just isn't for them, but acknowledge the potential market rather than just throwing out the entire paradigm. There is a difference between "I don't like it" or "I don't see how that could be useful to me" versus the "solution in search of a problem" naysayer. But in any event I find it an interesting topic as someone who did exactly that, replaced an iPhone 12 pro max and an ipad mini 5 with a Galaxy Fold 2 and I've found I don't miss anything. If anything it's the opposite, the synergy of having a small and large screen in one device has given me things I'd never have with the prior combination.
My mini 5 fits into my back jeans pocket. Not particularly tight or baggy, and I'm in good shape. Of course I can't sit down that way so that was always an issue. It fits perfectly in my front scrubs pocket, but that's not a typical use case.
Yup, I'm a dude.
But like I said, jacket pocket. Like a winter coat thing. And only barely. The mini is also just heavy enough that it's a bit annoying to carry.
Of course there will always be situations where you want a larger screen for reading, data input, videos, etc. But accepting current folding devices as a necessary step towards something better isn’t a requirement. Manufacturers are already iterating devices that we never see, because they have issues they don’t want to release into the public. Apple is famous for doing this, which is why people always say that Apple fans hate something until Apple releases it. It’s often true, because brands who release things before addressing negative issues, often have negative consequences.
With regard to current folding phones, you have to be willing to accept a bunch of things not being available, that so many of us pushed for in our smart devices for years, like water resistance, drop protection, screen scratch resistance, battery life, one handed usability, etc., that just aren’t possible with current folding devices. I know Samsung worked really hard to develop the hinge used on these things, so that it remains smooth throughout its usable life, but they know that it is a mechanical device that will wear in a way that a non-mechanical slab phone doesn’t have to even consider.
I lived through the days of the Palm Pilots, Compaq iPaq (which I loved as one of the first real portable pc’s), and several Blackberry knockoffs I had where the screens all developed scratches within a year making them unusable as a touch input device. Apple introducing the first iPhone with the glass screen was a huge step ahead and here we are again with what are similarly damage-prone screens being touted as the next great thing. I’d take a two panel glass screen that comes together as a foldable if it had the rigidity that current slab devices have over the utg covered screens on the market now.
I also agree that the idea of a rollable screen should make more sense as a way of expanding a device, potentially far larger than what a single hinge can offer. But again, one big issue is that a mechanism required to make that happen, while providing a rigid and inflexible screen, would be unfathomably complex and/or heavy or thick, unless you’re ok with having a screen act like a window roller shade. All of that mechanism would need to be able to fold up into the device (and would then be another entry point for dust and detritus that could damage the device). Maybe these things will be resolved with new materials, quantum computing advances, etc.
And I’m not arguing that there isn’t a reason for a larger screened device, but rather the fact that doubling a smartphone screen may not be going far enough in increasing the screen size. I thought the flip style folding phone made more sense, because you could literally cut the phone height in half, and not try to make the screen larger.
Maybe the better solution isn’t to take a phone and unfold it to be a small tablet, but rather make a larger tablet that folds down to be a half-sized tablet. The benefit of doing that is tablets aren’t expected to have the same features that phones do, like water resistance, surviving drops, etc., and going larger with a device provides more space for battery cells too, which is another thing that we all want - all day battery life.
I see foldables today as being more of tablets that fold, rather than smartphones that unfold into a larger screen. That to me makes all the difference, when you realise that people use smartphones way more than tablets precisely because of the former’s portability.
I don’t think it’s a good user experience to have to unfold and then fold your phone every time you want to use it, plus this makes it thicker than a normal phone.
This doesn’t mean there isn’t a market for a foldable device, but I don’t think the concept makes sense for a smartphone (I feel it may make more sense on a tablet / laptop foldable), and I feel that most people are still better off with a better smartphone.
theyll rave about foldable phones once apple starts making them
I see how it could be useful to me, and I think it does solve a problem.
I haven't seen a product that isn't problematic. The Surface Neo is interesting, but for some reason, they really underspecced it, so it doesn't really work as a high-end phone (despite the price tag).
Fair enough.
there's absolutely no need for foldables. they're just awkward.
Well sure it's not a requirement to accept foldables as a steppping stone, but personally I'm very happy that Samsung is taking that leap. Without that leap I'm not sure where the market would be, but at least with them it's accelerating. I also get that there are trade offs, but these are improving. The Fold 3 is rumored to have an IP rating. I don't see the Fold 2 as being that much less durable in drops than say an iPhone, both would most likely be ruined with a good drop. Screen scratch resistance is give and take IMO, the outer screen is as durable as an iPhone, the inner screen while closed is actually exponentially more scratch resistant which is actually liberating as I don't have to worry about it at all when it's in my pocket, for me that's a draw between the 2. There is NO comparison to the Fold 2 and the older plastic screens, this misconception gets bandied about a lot from users who have never even touched or used the Folds, certainly not for a length of time or as a daily driver. It is truly a glass screen. Yes it will scratch easier than gorilla glass, but personally as someone who uses it naked, and I'm not particularly careful with my screens and that's why I pay for extended care, I can honestly say there is not even the faintest blemish on my screen. Watch for the Fold 3 as common sense would dictate that with stylus support the display most likely will be even more durable.
The battery life on my Fold 2 is markedly better than my 12 pro max, but that's only anecdotal. One handed usability is superior with the Fold 2 when closed, but inferior when open, where my pro max has poor usability one handed so personally I would give that win to the Fold. Hinge durability, as I noted before I highly doubt the hinge would fail before you sell the phone. 30 or so folds per day = 10 years, and that's with the most brutal, sort of unrealistic testing showing 120,000 folds before failure. Now I'm certainly not belittling your concerns, they are quite valid, it's just that they aren't really that much more than concerns over any other smartphone IMO. At the end of the day you just prefer a non folding phone, nothing wrong with that.
I can certainly follow the train of thought of having a folding tablet, instead of an unfolding phone, that would make sense depending on which function you value more. Personally I value the tablet function more so don't care that the phone portion is narrow. It's funny because a few years ago I was the one crying and whining about the aspect ratios becoming too narrow. But I actually prefer it that way now, one handed use is really really great, and it fits into my pocket better than my pro max.
Anyway you bring up great points, certainly foldables are not for everyone, especially in their current state. My only recurring point is that the current foldables, the Fold 2 namely, is routinely maligned for things it's not even guilty of such as poor durability, half baked, a solution in search of a problem, etc. and that just annoys me. I will say it again, shrinking phones in some form or another will eventually supplant smartphones similar to how phablets did just a few years ago. Again you note I'm not necessarily defending foldable phones as I do feel they are a stepping stone, but rather the entire paradigm of having a larger screen that shrinks into a smaller, more transportable footprint.
Point taken, it's certainly a valid point. Personally I don't have an issue using the smaller screen, it's still way larger than smartphone screens were just a few years ago. But I get it, it's not the same as a 6.1 screen on an iPhone. There is a trade off, and that's of not making the phone too huge when closed.
Yes, we understand that the foldable phone that you owned was awkward to use and didn't provide any beneifits.
People were clamoring for a tablet from Apple before the iPad launched. You're hopelessly confused.