Multiple Reviewers Facing Broken Galaxy Fold Devices After Just Days of Use

[Rogifan]

How the heck does this get a 4/10 from The Verge?

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/19/...bility-foldable-phone-video-performance-price

And I see in the comments lots of people saying you can’t make an omelette without breaking lots of eggs. OK well you do that in the R&D lab not in a product you’re selling to the public. It’s so obvious that this was rushed to market to appease the tech crowd which had ADD and was complaining about the smartphone market becoming boring. This thing wasn’t ready for prime time.

Also it seems like the use case for a phone that folds out into a small tablet are very niche. How frequently does someone need a tablet they can stick in a pocket? It seems like people are really stretching to find utility in this product because techies get bored easily and the powers that be decided this is the next big thing - just like 3D TVs were and then VR, AR, chatbots, smart speakers, etc. Eventually techies will get bored again and move on to something else.

 

[FFR]

How the heck does this get a 4/10 from The Verge?

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/19/...bility-foldable-phone-video-performance-price

And I see in the comments lots of people saying you can’t make an omelette without breaking lots of eggs. OK well you do that in the R&D lab not in a product you’re selling to the public. It’s so obvious that this was rushed to market to appease the tech crowd which had ADD and was complaining about the smartphone market becoming boring. This thing wasn’t ready for prime time.

Also it seems like the use case for a phone that folds out into a small tablet are very niche. How frequently does someone need a tablet they can stick in a pocket? It seems like people are really stretching to find utility in this product because techies get bored easily and the powers that be decided this is the next big thing - just like 3D TVs were and then VR, AR, chatbots, smart speakers, etc. Eventually techies will get bored again and move on to something else.

Use case, not to many I’m afraid. Nobody really wants an android tablet.

The posters defending the galaxy fooled don’t really care about the progression of technology like they claim they do, they just want to defend Samsung. do you honestly believe any of them would buy one?

Didn’t hear anything about furthering technology when Royole Flexpai launched their foldable phone last year. What about Huawei’s foldable, nope they are just here to defend Samsung and spin it as being altruistic.

 

[DNichter]

How the heck does this get a 4/10 from The Verge?

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/19/...bility-foldable-phone-video-performance-price

And I see in the comments lots of people saying you can’t make an omelette without breaking lots of eggs. OK well you do that in the R&D lab not in a product you’re selling to the public. It’s so obvious that this was rushed to market to appease the tech crowd which had ADD and was complaining about the smartphone market becoming boring. This thing wasn’t ready for prime time.

Also it seems like the use case for a phone that folds out into a small tablet are very niche. How frequently does someone need a tablet they can stick in a pocket? It seems like people are really stretching to find utility in this product because techies get bored easily and the powers that be decided this is the next big thing - just like 3D TVs were and then VR, AR, chatbots, smart speakers, etc. Eventually techies will get bored again and move on to something else.

I believe the 4 out of 10 was based on assuming the breaking issue would be fixed. So overall, still a pretty crappy product. I agree with your last point though, I don't see the use case/value. It doesn't do anything better than what we have today. It's a crappy phone that unfolds to a small tablet without any good apps for it. They developed the screen tech, which is cool, and forced it into a product. It should really go the other way around - come up with a product that adds value over what we have today and then work to align the tech. This is a mess though and comes off extremely desperate to me.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Mine has experience some massive failures.

According to this video the average user would unfold the phone 120 times a day. According to the length of the video they would waste 25 minutes a week just opening the phone. That's 1300 minutes a year or almost a day. Imagine losing a day of your life every year just to unfold a phone. FFS.

 

[realtuner]

Well android phones get OS software updates for 2 years and monthly security updates for 3 years. So I don’t think it’s accurate to say they get no updates after a year. Are updates better on iOS? Yes. But updates are not non existent on android.

My Note 9 took 5 months to get Pie. For a $1,000 flagship. Do you think that’s acceptable for such an expensive device?

And while it’s true they get monthly security updates, it’s been found that many OEMs lie about what’s in the patch or even if you get the patch. In addition, getting monthly security updates doesn’t mean you get all the latest fixes within 30 days. Your April security update might actually contain fixes from a couple months prior. Further, Android can’t get fixes out as quickly as iOS. For severe zero-day exploits in the past Apple has issued updates within days. You’d never see that in Android, save for Pixel devices.

There’s a massive difference between iOS and Android for OS updates or security fixes.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

According to this video the average user would unfold the phone 120 times a day. According to the length of the video they would waste 25 minutes a week just opening the phone. That's 1300 minutes a year or almost a day. Imagine losing a day of your life every year just to unfold a phone. FFS.

And plenty of people keep phones in a case that needs to open/unfold in exactly the same way. Ridiculous/stupid point to make.

 

[Oohara]

This misconception that Apple is somehow playing safe or not innovating is because people simple don’t understand how Apple works, not because Apple has lost its way.



And nothing is stopping Samsung from doing so.

But this double standard has got to stop. Either Samsung is a leader like Apple and therefore subject to the same exacting standards that Apple is, or admit that Samsung is nowhere near Apple’s level, if they are to keep giving Samsung’s every slipup a free pass.

I am just saying that you can’t have it both ways.

Or maybe the truth is that Apple and Samsung are two vastly different companies, both having the aim of making money but using totally different strategies for doing so. Everyone is free to do as they please of course but honestly I don't see much point in these endless comparisons, regardless which way they're slanted.

Samsung is one of the world's biggest and most successful tech companies. I doubt that whatever "failures" these fold devices are seeing is of much concern to them or for that matter very far from their own predictions and calculated risks. In the long term they might stand to win a lot by simply kicking the fold device trend in the butt so they can sell more expensive fold screens in the future, even if the first generation of their own device is riddled with hardware failure. Patents might play a major role too.

Bottom line, it's unlikely that any one of us forum posters understand enough about the true workings of these mega corps to be able to pass worthwhile judgement on either of them.

 

[norbinhouston]

Its fun to see the Apple haters back peddle on their defense of the Fold. Now they are getting a taste of their own medicine. lol.

 

[Rogifan]

I believe the 4 out of 10 was based on assuming the breaking issue would be fixed. So overall, still a pretty crappy product. I agree with your last point though, I don't see the use case/value. It doesn't do anything better than what we have today. It's a crappy phone that unfolds to a small tablet without any good apps for it. They developed the screen tech, which is cool, and forced it into a product. It should really go the other way around - come up with a product that adds value over what we have today and then work to align the tech. This is a mess though and comes off extremely desperate to me.

I’m just not seeing the use case for a tablet that folds into the size of a phone. Is it for men to put in a jeans pocket? But then if you’re out and about how frequently would you need it to be the size of a tablet? The things I use my iPad for - reading books, watching movies, some productivity - I’m not doing when I’m not home. And if I am staying at someone else’s house or on vacation I just stick my iPad in my handbag with a bunch of other stuff. For me there’s hardly any times where I need a tablet and also need it to fit in a pants/jacket pocket.

 

[Baymowe335]

According to this video the average user would unfold the phone 120 times a day. According to the length of the video they would waste 25 minutes a week just opening the phone. That's 1300 minutes a year or almost a day. Imagine losing a day of your life every year just to unfold a phone. FFS.

More likely, you’d stop unfolding it because it would become a pain to constantly do so. Then you’d realize it’s a thick “double stacked phone” with a terrible front screen and buggy OS.

 

[317342]

My god what would Steve Jobs say...
...sorry, wrong company, my bad!

 

[Zaap]

How the heck does this get a 4/10 from The Verge?

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/19/...bility-foldable-phone-video-performance-price

And I see in the comments lots of people saying you can’t make an omelette without breaking lots of eggs. OK well you do that in the R&D lab not in a product you’re selling to the public. It’s so obvious that this was rushed to market to appease the tech crowd which had ADD and was complaining about the smartphone market becoming boring. This thing wasn’t ready for prime time.

Also it seems like the use case for a phone that folds out into a small tablet are very niche. How frequently does someone need a tablet they can stick in a pocket? It seems like people are really stretching to find utility in this product because techies get bored easily and the powers that be decided this is the next big thing - just like 3D TVs were and then VR, AR, chatbots, smart speakers, etc. Eventually techies will get bored again and move on to something else.

Yeah I just want the same phone for years on end with removed features, iCon Grid 25.0 and a notch out of the screen.

Who the heck wants anything else but the same thing forever?
[doublepost=1555699453][/doublepost]

Its fun to see the Apple haters back peddle on their defense of the Fold. Now they are getting a taste of their own medicine. lol.

I find it funny to see Apple fans stuck in the time warp of 2016 justifying Apple's lack of any sort of actual bravery or innovation. 5400RPM hard drives and notches forever!

Meanwhile Samsung just released the A80 with infinity display completely notchless/hole-less with rotating camera almost like "oh yeah and by the way...!"

Every other week I see Samsung and others do something cool with tech. With Apple... what.. every other year if we're lucky? Apple is downright LAZY compared to these other companies.

 

[The Game 161]

Hopefully retail units will have no issues...

 

[realtuner]

Yeah I just want the same phone for years on end with removed features, iCon Grid 25.0 and a notch out of the screen.

Windows has had the same grid of icons and task bar for so long I can’t even remember. Sure they’ve made a few tweaks, but it’s been basically the same forever. As has the traditional menu structure you see in Windows software.
[doublepost=1555700020][/doublepost]

Hopefully retail units will have no issues...

Those are retail units.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

And plenty of people keep phones in a case that needs to open/unfold in exactly the same way. Ridiculous/stupid point to make.

I know business who make and sell cases. There is such a small demand for flip cases that most accessory manufacturers don’t want to make them. From that you can glean that users prefer to use their devices as soon as they see it without additional action. It’s part of the reason why flip phones are basically dead too.

 

[Zaap]

Windows has had the same grid of icons and task bar for so long I can’t even remember. Sure they’ve made a few tweaks, but it’s been basically the same forever. As has the traditional menu structure you see in Windows software.

I'm not a big fan of Microsoft either, but that charge is a bit misguided. MS changed Windows pretty radically from Windows 7 to 8 and now 10. Doesn't take that much of a long memory to know that.

I personally prefer OSX to Windows but the use can easily change either OS pretty freely to suit their liking. (OSX I prefer with a custom Finder and I prefer something like classic shell in Windows. )

 

[Kabeyun]

Finally a 32-page thread where the haters gang up on a product that actually sucks. Heh.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

I’m just not seeing the use case for a tablet that folds into the size of a phone. Is it for men to put in a jeans pocket? But then if you’re out and about how frequently would you need it to be the size of a tablet? The things I use my iPad for - reading books, watching movies, some productivity - I’m not doing when I’m not home. And if I am staying at someone else’s house or on vacation I just stick my iPad in my handbag with a bunch of other stuff. For me there’s hardly any times where I need a tablet and also need it to fit in a pants/jacket pocket.

And then plenty of others will see the benefit. I can see the benefit of a phone that opens up to a small tablet for reading books etc and bigger screen for Internet browsing for "out and about". But not for £1800. But prices will come down.
[doublepost=1555702282][/doublepost]

More likely, you’d stop unfolding it because it would become a pain to constantly do so.

And plenty of people keep phones in a case that needs to open/unfold in exactly the same way.
[doublepost=1555703017][/doublepost]

I know business who make and sell cases. There is such a small demand for flip cases that most accessory manufacturers don’t want to make them. From that you can glean that users prefer to use their devices as soon as they see it without additional action. It’s part of the reason why flip phones are basically dead too.

I see plenty of people with these cases.
They are often easily spotted with the opened surface over their faces when they makes calls Fold doesn't have that issue and doesn't need to be opened to make calls and read notifications. Last time I was looking for a case for my wife I saw plenty folding cases on display.
[doublepost=1555703236][/doublepost]

Windows has had the same grid of icons and task bar for so long I can’t even remember. Sure they’ve made a few tweaks, but it’s been basically the same forever. As has the traditional menu structure you see in Windows software.

Windows, like Android allows users to place icons where they want.

 

[realtuner]

Windows, like Android allows users to place icons where they want.

Wow, that’s absolutely amazing. What innovation.

Still just a grid of icons, regardless of whether you can move them where you want.
[doublepost=1555703784][/doublepost]

How the heck does this get a 4/10 from The Verge?

They give 3 points just for powering up and showing something on the screen.
[doublepost=1555703877][/doublepost]

I know business who make and sell cases. There is such a small demand for flip cases that most accessory manufacturers don’t want to make them. From that you can glean that users prefer to use their devices as soon as they see it without additional action. It’s part of the reason why flip phones are basically dead too.

It’s also why FaceID works so well. If you’re looking at your screen, it’s already unlocked.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

Wow, that’s absolutely amazing. What innovation.

Still just a grid of icons, regardless of whether you can move them where you want.

Never claimed it was "innovation" Its just the way it should be
And on an Android phone it is absolutely not just "a grid of icons" with placement and widget options as one likes

 

[gaximus]

According to this video the average user would unfold the phone 120 times a day. According to the length of the video they would waste 25 minutes a week just opening the phone. That's 1300 minutes a year or almost a day. Imagine losing a day of your life every year just to unfold a phone. FFS.

I don't understand how your comment relates to mine, I've read it 10 times, I think I'm missing something?

 

[cmaier]

According to this video the average user would unfold the phone 120 times a day. According to the length of the video they would waste 25 minutes a week just opening the phone. That's 1300 minutes a year or almost a day. Imagine losing a day of your life every year just to unfold a phone. FFS.

This is why we need AR glasses. Always on, providing us with the info we need at the moment. No need to pull out something from your pocket and no need to swipe to unlock.

 

[jamesrick80]

According to this video the average user would unfold the phone 120 times a day. According to the length of the video they would waste 25 minutes a week just opening the phone. That's 1300 minutes a year or almost a day. Imagine losing a day of your life every year just to unfold a phone. FFS.

You can say you lose even more days pooping...say something with meaning next time.
[doublepost=1555715096][/doublepost]

I believe the 4 out of 10 was based on assuming the breaking issue would be fixed. So overall, still a pretty crappy product. I agree with your last point though, I don't see the use case/value. It doesn't do anything better than what we have today. It's a crappy phone that unfolds to a small tablet without any good apps for it. They developed the screen tech, which is cool, and forced it into a product. It should really go the other way around - come up with a product that adds value over what we have today and then work to align the tech. This is a mess though and comes off extremely desperate to me.

At this point I think the rating was fair....2 grand for a device that will eventually break...I'm thinking a piece of lint can mess up the hinge mechanism after seeing all the reviews and the screen scuffs too easily......

 

[Kabeyun]

This is why we need AR glasses. Always on, providing us with the info we need at the moment.

I struggle to think of anything I’d want less.

 

[Abazigal]

Given how almost every review had the user open the galaxy fold right away because the phone experience is just downright abysmal, it makes me realise - doesn’t an Apple Watch basically replicate the “quick interactions on a small screen” part of the galaxy fold.

I am more convinced than ever that Apple will not do a folding phone (they might well have toyed with the idea to test its feasibility). Instead, Apple will double down on wearables, which will offer a better experience. Apple Watch for the quick interactions, iPhone for the smartphone experience, Apple glasses for when you want a larger display.

The Galaxy Fold isn’t a smartphone that happens to unfold into a larger device. Instead, it is a small tablet that folds in half so that it can fit into your pocket.

My suspicion is that the device really isn’t meant to be used much when folded. This is why app continuity (use an app on the front screen and then have the larger, unfolded screen pick things up in the same spot) seemed more like a gimmick than anything else. Are consumers really going to want to keep unfolding the device when using apps? No.

This product is dead in the water.