Hands-On With Samsung's New S20 and Galaxy Z Flip Smartphones

[cmaier]

Steven Sinofsky goes even further than me in questioning the use case of the entire folding idea:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1228045578463920128

I guess I’m in good company.

 

[TheSapient]

Steven Sinofsky goes even further than me in questioning the use case of the entire folding idea:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1228045578463920128

I guess I’m in good company.

Look, a person on the internet made a throw-away comment that I agree with. This means I was right to ignore all the direct evidence and patient explanations offered to me!

Honestly, all the people saying they want this phone, and explaining why, completely invalidates you claim that there is no reason anyone would want one.

 

[chucker23n1]

It's almost as if there's a third option: it's not for everyone, but also not for nobody.

 

[sirozha]

I am old enough to remember it. It was a time when phones were made for making/receiving calls and text messages and they barely did anything else. It was a time when people were fascinated with smaller/pocketable mobile phones, and the smaller/thinner was the king!! What these companies don't seem to realize is that time has changed, and with it, the way people use mobile devices. Now, most people want a smartphone with large beautiful displays because these now are not just smartphones but powerful computers/cameras. The way I see it is, these companies are having too much of orgasm over foldables/flipables, just like they did over a decade ago with 3D displays. To later realize that people really weren't bothered with that, and instead, they wanted the simple way.
Do I want a mobile device that I have to flip open every single time I use it, and then flip close it?? Me personally, heck no! And charging that ridiculous price for it is just outrages!!

I don’t know who is having an orgasm. A big phone in a front pocket serves a specific purpose. I get it. Personally, I wish I could get a small foldable iPhone 5G iPhone so that I could mostly use it as a simple phone, a camera, and a modem for larger screens that don’t fit in a pocket, like the iPad and the MacBook.

 

[I7guy]

I remember flip phones well as I had a few of them. I don't think I want to go back to opening and closing. But that's me.

 

[sirozha]

I remember flip phones well as I had a few of them. I don't think I want to go back to opening and closing. But that's me.

I had several flip phones, and I had Razr. It was phenomenal. You could flip it open with one hand, and it was phenomenally spring loaded so that it would open and close with a flick of a thumb but yet stay open without inadvertently folding in. You could flick your thumb and close it. It would fit anywhere. It was revolutionary. If Apple released a Razr knockoff with 5G and a good camera, I would be all over it.

i don’t need a big screen on a phone. I’m already addicted to my phone, as most everybody else. Having a small screen would let me spend less time starting at it. Having 5G would allow me to use the phone as a modem. Having a nice camera would allow me to carry a camera and a phone in one small foldable device.

I can view my pictures on the iPad or on the Mac. I don't need a big screen on the phone. Such a device would be the absolute hit with me.

 

[jmgregory1]

Just watched the Jerry Rig Everything video of the Z Flip and low and behold, the revolutionary ”glass” screen is NOT glass. It might, as he noted, have glass particles embedded in a polymer film, but it is definitely not glass. Not only does it scratch like plastic, you can easily leave fingernail marks in it.

He was pretty scathing of their lying about the material, and Samsung deserves it.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I think in the end, it comes down to this: the Galaxy S20 Ultra is just too big. It makes my iPhone X look positively easy to handle in comparison.

 

[spinedoc77]

I agree that if Samsung keeps at it, the tech will definitely get better. The durability of the screens will improve, the crease will be less prominent or even disappear altogether etc.

However, I still feel that the principle behind folding phones is fundamentally flawed. Think about how you use your phone. You take it out of your pocket, and expect the screen to be turned on by the time it reaches your face. You then view the notifications or unlock your phone to further interact with it. And then put it away when you are done with it.

Conversely, having to unfold your phone every time you want to use it (and then needing to fold it before putting it away) is an extra step and represents an added barrier between technology and the user. Some might think it is worth it for the extra screen estate and / or more compact form factor (debatable?), but I find a foldable phone just seems like a step backwards in this regard.

Contrast this with wearables, which makes technology even more intimate and personal because they are always on you, even more so than smartphones.

it just feels to me like Samsung is even doing foldable phones only because they realise that they have no future in wearables and are scrambling to find the next big thing in mobile.

Maybe it’s just my Apple bias showing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't think it's that the principle is flawed, but rather the execution, or more specifically one particular oem (Samsung)'s execution. The solution is very simple, just give it an external screen, I mean a fully featured smartphone screen on the outside so you can choose not to open it. Really opening it would be reserved for when you wanted tablet like features, or in the case of the Flip when you wanted a larger screen. Although I can see your point being much more applicable to the Flip because personally I don't really see much benefit to folding a phone that already fits into your pocket. But in the case of a tablet folding to phone sizes, now that is much more powerful.

Wearables you run into the same exact flaw you describe but on the flip side, consumers expect to have all the screen and functions of a full sized smartphone. That's why I think AR could replace that to an extent.

Samsung is just trying to hit the next big market, and it's betting that foldables is it. Even Apple already has many patents and fumors floating around, so it's only a matter of time IMO.
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I started out in this thread earnestly asking for someone to explain a use case for this particular device. As reply after reply of “you’re an idiot, It’s awesome!” accumulated, it became clear to me that nobody has an actual explanation.

It's insane that someone could actually ignore all the solutions users have offered, besides the simply incredibly obvious one of increased screen real estate in a more portable factor, and then even revel in that lack of understanding. Enjoy your title.
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Steven Sinofsky goes even further than me in questioning the use case of the entire folding idea:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1228045578463920128

I guess I’m in good company.

Yep then he goes on to state the obvious, that a 3rd screen is needed. Even worse, when pointed out that users would have something like an AW he said that was not enough either. Look Microsoft lost the mobile war, last it very badly at that, I'm not sure I would take their viewpoint very seriously.

Just to be clear my arguments are for foldables in general, but mostly about a phone that folds into a tablet like scenario. Personally if we are being specific ONLY to the Flip and the Moto then I don't see much functionality beyond having a more pocketable device, but being a guy with fairly large pockets I don't have many issues with my XSMax fitting anywhere. My issue is throwing out the entire foldables category blindly. The issue isn't with the foldable screen concept, IT"S WITH THE EXECUTION. More paradigms and executions will be released.

 

[mngdew]

Thank you for that. A GIF is worth 4-thousand words, and some people are literally blinded by their fanboyism.

That phone is just cool. As it goes on, I can see them getting thin enough to the point where they're the same thickness as a current regular device.

I love the future. And I love variety.

For that to happen, we need a new battery solution. The battery is the one that takes up the most space inside the phones.

 

[DSTL]

People said Galaxy Note was incredibly stupid when Samsung introduced it.

Doesn’t fold. Not the same
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I remember:

This phone is incredibly stupid. Where is this big screen demand coming from?
This phone is incredibly stupid. Where is this 2GB of ram demand coming from?
This phone is incredibly stupid. Where is this 3 camera demand coming from?
This phone......
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We understand, its difficult for you

I don’t recall bringing up specs and features that actually make sense. Stay on topic next time.