Samsung Claims Foldable Phones Are Going Mainstream

[ninethirty]

Search of problem? The concept is a phone that turns into a tablet… the solution helps to avoid purchasing a tablet.

If Apple brings to market a foldable iPhone.. that turns into an iPad Mini the hype of that product would be insane.

Apple isn't going to bring anything to market that's going to cannibalize sales of a huge product line for them.

Beyond that, the tradeoff for a larger screen (with a nice crease in it!) is a thicker brick to put in my pocket.

I know that Apple is investigating foldables, but I seriously doubt we'll see one anytime soon, or until the folded size equals the size of today's phones.

 

[M3gatron]

It's hilarious to see how opinions have evolved on this forum since the launch of Foldable Smartphones form the ridiculous insistence on how this new form factor will "surely fail". Well it doesn't look like that's going to be the case boys, sorry(not sorry).
Also it's very funny how now the main complain is centered around the crease. People that have been trained for years to ignore huge ugly notches on various devices(including laptops) have a big problem with something that's barely noticeable. Who would have tough?

Anyway.

Foldable phones will only go mainstream when Apple finally makes one and legitimatises the form factor.

That's absolutely not true, taking in consideration the current pace at which foldables gain sales(I suspect the Z Flip 4 and Fold 4 will be a smashing success especially since they will now use a decently efficient SOC in the form of the SD 8G1+) they will become mainstream even if Apple never launches one(which is also quite a likely thing).

Apple tries many, many things. They just do this inside the company and don‘t release rough/unfinished stuff. Samsung et al. on the other hand don‘t seem to mind the backlash they sometimes get for letting super-early adopters pay through the nose for that stuff.

Interesting assumption. How exactly do you know what things and how Apple tries them behind those closed doors?
When is the last time Apple launched a product that represents a new category for the market in general? I honestly can't remember.

In fairness to Samsung, I'd believe that the total amount of foldable smartphones shipped is about 10 million in 2021.

...But wasn't there 1.35 billion smartphones shipped in 2021, aka 1,350 million?

Funny, I remember when a lot of users here were complaining how comparing Android's market share with iphone's isn't fair because "most Android phones being sold are >100$"(I know it's funny) but now these >100$ are just perfect to illustrate how "small" the +999$ MSRP Foldable Smartphone market is.

And Apple takes plenty of risks. The difference is that Apple takes those risks privately, in early design/engineering mocks and prototypes, and usually (side-eye at you, butterfly keyboard 😒) applies a strict editorial industrial design process, not exposing their customers to designs that they don't see as fullly-baked.

You are basically contradicting yourself, if Apple was among the last to launched something it's definitely not a risk(the same doing it behind closed doors can't be considered a risk). A risk would be to launch something that isn't already fully proven on the market and they don't necessary need to be the first to do it. Apple definitely doesn't do a lot of such things. Other companies also have design/engineering mocks and prototypes, a lot of times way befor Apple. Samsung knew they could bend OLED screens when Apple guys thought smartphone screens don't need to be bigger than 3.5inch. Taking in consideration how many years apple waited to launch fast wired charging, can you say they did it better than anybody? what about wireless charging?

Apple couldn't release OLED until they could guarantee no burn in.

Not true, Apple doesn't guarantee no burn in.

About the Super Retina display and Super Retina XDR display on your iPhone - Apple Support

Learn how to get the most out of the Super Retina display or Super Retina XDR display on your iPhone.

support.apple.com

And burn-in hasn't been a problem well before Apple launched a smartphone with an OLED display.

 

[FyrStrike]

Wow so many comments already. It seems somone is jelly. People first hated on Samsung for copying Apple, now they are hating on them for trying something different. Even if the Galaxy Fold had no crease, was slim and perfect no Apple fanboy would buy it anyways, not sure why complain. I wish Samsung well and hope the technology matures so Apple can bring some of that to the iPhone/iPad in some way or another. I love technology and I don’t like ignoring or pissing on other brands just because they are not Apple.

It’s the user experience on Samsung phones. Sorry but Android still doesn’t cut it. The experience is nowhere near as smooth as an iPhone. I think Samsung needs to build their own OS in order to truly differentiate themselves between other Android devices and Apple. But then all it takes is Microsoft to release a killer phone with a windows 11 type of experience to knock Samsung if it’s spot and give Apple a bit of a dent. That’s just my opinion though.

 

[Leshita]

I am not really into fold phones. I will wait and get the near final form "normal" iPhone. Perhaps after a decade I will get a fold phone if it takes off in the market and tech matures.

I currently have the iPhone SE 2022, and will be waiting for the next near-perfect iteration of the standard iPhone Pro. I am looking for periscope (at least 10x optical), better battery life, and Touch ID to return before I upgrade again. I am eyeing the iPhone 18 or XX. lol

 

[Cameront9]

I never had a flip or similar phone--I moved straight from candy bar phones to Palm Trees and then the iphone. I feel like a lot of the desire for a foldable phone is out of nostalgia for flip phones. I personally see no benefit to them at all.

 

[M3gatron]

Can we at lease give Samsung credit for trying something different? My co-worker has one at work and he loved it. our job requires us to review tickets and sometimes we need to do that on site with the customer. Doing this on an iPhone is clunky, I personally either carry a laptop with me or print out the ticket. Problem is you waste paper and the laptop is annoying, you have to open it up, wake from sleep.

My co-worker just opens up the full ticket and reads all the details without issue.

Remember too, this crowd was the same one bemoaning the Samsung Note back in 2011, yet four years later Apple followed suit with the iPhone 6 Plus and has released even bigger phones since.

Tim Cook made fun of the Surface Pro, yet, there is the iPad Pro with Magic keyboard and stylus. I rather say it’s different rather that bash it with merit less criticism.

That would require a little maturity so the answer is most likely a NO.

 

[allan.nyholm]

My guess would be that should Apple make a phone that sports similar properties, they will one up the industry by making a sub-tractable/collapsable phone instead that's activated by gyroscope and accelorometer that makes the phone come out if its sub-tractable casing by lifting and have tech respond to movement of the hand - of sorts.

The foldable phone to me sounds like an idea only to protect the glass as it would appear not to have any other features to boast about.

 

[mjs916]

Have they stopped breaking or having permanent fold lines? If not, then no they aren’t lmao

Why is everything in that video so filthy looking? His hands, the iPad, the room 😂

 

[Fraserh02]

All I’m saying is don’t knock it till you try it. I had a Galaxy fold and a Razr for a month each just try try the concept and I could see the appeal to both. Yes they’re not perfect, but the idea is definitely compelling. The Folds form factor was a winner in my books and the crease you get used to which I’m sure will be ironed out (pun intended) in the future. I believe that if Apple do this, it will be such a good product and lots of you will change your mind. I only didn’t keep it because I’m stuck in the apple ecosystem.

 

[Ludatyk]

Apple isn't going to bring anything to market that's going to cannibalize sales of a huge product line for them.

Beyond that, the tradeoff for a larger screen (with a nice crease in it!) is a thicker brick to put in my pocket.

I know that Apple is investigating foldables, but I seriously doubt we'll see one anytime soon, or until the folded size equals the size of today's phones.

As Steve Jobs mentions before… if they don’t cannibalize their product someone else will. And this argument of a crease needs to be removed… there’s already a foldable phone that doesn’t have a crease in it. Not sure why Samsung hasn’t copied it yet, but the solution is there.

Brick? Exaggerating there a bit.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Why is everything in that video so filthy looking? His hands, the iPad, the room 😂

First DankPods video I see?

Well DankPods as his name suggests originally started his channel by fixing dead iPods, doing iPods mods, and doing funny dumb stuff with iPods (like dragging a flash mod iPod Classic and a HDD iPod on his motorcycle to see which ones would hold up, and recording an entire video on a 5th gen iPod Nano.)

Well it slowly transitioned from doing videos on iPods to doing vids about bad MP3 players. All that filth you see is from the nugget destruction using the patented "1 Grit." Get your popcorn. You're in for a treat

(Oh yeah, he has a pet snake he named Frank too. She's a spoiled brat but it doesn't matter because she's adorable.)

 

[ninethirty]

As Steve Jobs mentions before… if they don’t cannibalize their product someone else will. And this argument of a crease needs to be removed… there’s already a foldable phone that doesn’t have a crease in it. Not sure why Samsung hasn’t copied it yet, but the solution is there.

Brick? Exaggerating there a bit.

There's no exaggeration. I don't want a phone in my pocket that's any thicker than the iPhone is now. If you double that thickness and ask me to put that in my pocket, I'm calling that a brick.

But all of this is pointless to argue about anyway. Apple isn't going to make a foldable phone. Period.

 

[chris1958]

Will be a hard time for Apple engineers trying to design a foldable iPhone while avoiding any patents Samsung might hold.

 

[SenorWhyMe]

not going to lie i want one, it practically removes a purpose for phone cases at least for me and if apple ever makes one i hope they make a small version of apple pencil . would be great for me i used to be a galaxy note guy and I literally used s pen a hell of a lot now i’m just Iphone 13 pro max, ipad pro 12.9 but i do miss the convenience of a s pen

 

[SenorWhyMe]

Will be a hard time for Apple engineers trying to design a foldable iPhone while avoiding any patents Samsung might hold.

doesn’t have to be a folding display i would prefer a split screen but once unfolded with hinge merges both screens near perfectly sort of like how razer made this triple screen monitor with inserts for merging them together

 

[MRrainer]

Foldable phones will only go mainstream when Apple finally makes one and legitimatises the form factor.

That's the only true and legit answer to the question "When will foldable phones go mainstream?".

I hope execs and employees working on it don't get drunk from all the power they have.

 

[M3gatron]

It's hilarious to see how opinions have evolved on this forum since the launch of Foldable Smartphones form the ridiculous insistence on how this new form factor will "surely fail". Well it doesn't look like that's going to be the case boys, sorry(not sorry).
Also it's very funny how now the main complain is centered around the crease. People that have been trained for years to ignore huge ugly notches on various devices(including laptops) have a big problem with something that's barely noticeable. Who would have tough?

Anyway.

Foldable phones will only go mainstream when Apple finally makes one and legitimatises the form factor.

That's absolutely not true, taking in consideration the current pace at which foldables gain sales(I suspect the Z Flip 4 and Fold 4 will be a smashing success especially since they will now use a decently efficient SOC in the form of the SD 8G1+) they will become mainstream even if Apple never launches one(which also quite a likely thing).

Apple tries many, many things. They just do this inside the company and don‘t release rough/unfinished stuff. Samsung et al. on the other hand don‘t seem to mind the backlash they sometimes get for letting super-early adopters pay through the nose for that stuff.

Interesting assumption. How exactly do you know what things and how Apple tries them behind those closed doors?
When is the last time Apple launched a product that represents a new category for the market in general? I honestly can't remember.

In fairness to Samsung, I'd believe that the total amount of foldable smartphones shipped is about 10 million in 2021.

...But wasn't there 1.35 billion smartphones shipped in 2021, aka 1,350 million?

Funny, I remember when a lot of users here were complaining how comparing Android's market share with iphone's isn't fair because "most Android phones being sold are >100$"(I know it's funny) but now these >100$ are just perfect to illustrate how "small" the +999$ MSRP Foldable Smartphone market is.

And Apple takes plenty of risks. The difference is that Apple takes those risks privately, in early design/engineering mocks and prototypes, and usually (side-eye at you, butterfly keyboard 😒) applies a strict editorial industrial design process, not exposing their customers to designs that they don't see as fullly-baked.

You are basically contradicting yourself, if Apple was among the last to launched something it's definitely not a risk(the same doing it behind closed doors can't be considered a risk). A risk would be to launch something that isn't already fully proven on the market and they don't necessary need to be the first to do it. Apple definitely doesn't do a lot of such things. Other companies also have design/engineering mocks and prototypes, a lot of times way befor Apple. Samsung knew they could bend OLED screens when Apple guys thought smartphone screens don't need to be bigger than 3.5inch. Taking in consideration how many years apple waited to launch fast wired charging, can you say they did it better than anybody? what about wireless charging?

Apple couldn't release OLED until they could guarantee no burn in.

Not true, Apple doesn't guarantee no burn in.

About the Super Retina display and Super Retina XDR display on your iPhone - Apple Support

Learn how to get the most out of the Super Retina display or Super Retina XDR display on your iPhone.

support.apple.com

And burn-in hasn't been a problem well before Apple launched a smartphone with an OLED display.

 

[gaximus]

Huh? I made a comment on the battery life by which making it thinner Samsung would perhaps make a smaller battery… how does that correlate to the tech not being there?

There‘s various companies entering the foldable market… from flipping out vertically to horizontally… oh yeah, outwardly as well. As I’ve said the tech is there… the problem is making it affordable for the mainstream.

Once the battery tech gets better, then making a thinner battery, won't sacrifice battery life. Once the battery life gets much better, then the tech will be there. I agree affordability is also an issue.

 

[Ludatyk]

Once the battery tech gets better, then making a thinner battery, won't sacrifice battery life. Once the battery life gets much better, then the tech will be there. I agree affordability is also an issue.

Battery tech has always been a thorn for manufacturers… that’s why the focus has been on software optimization.

I find it difficult that you are establishing battery needs to be thinner in order for the tech to be there, that doesn’t make much sense to me. The fact of the matter is there’s been at least 10 versions of foldable products out in the wild that’s available to purchase.

It would be one thing that these products have been held up in CES for years upon years not seeing any realistic release dates, but these products are open to purchase. Which obviously means… the tech is there.

 

[gaximus]

Battery tech has always been a thorn for manufacturers… that’s why the focus has been on software optimization.

I find it difficult that you are establishing battery needs to be thinner in order for the tech to be there, that doesn’t make much sense to me. The fact of the matter is there’s been at least 10 versions of foldable products out in the wild that’s available to purchase.

It would be one thing that these products have been held up in CES for years upon years not seeing any realistic release dates, but these products are open to purchase. Which obviously means… the tech is there.

Your original comment:

The tech is there… the problem is affordability.

And thickness will always be a problem… you are in essence putting two slabs of phones together. Making it thinner would most likely be a hit to the battery life.

You said the tech is there, but thickness is a problem, and making it thinner would be a hit to battery life. But when battery tech is better, then it won't be an issue to make it thinner.

For me and many others thickness is an issue, and a sign that the tech isn't there. (including you, you mention thickness being problem)

 

[jdawgnoonan]

I had the Z Fold 3 and I really liked it a lot. I even liked the narrow screen on the outside, since the phone folded is narrow it is very easy to hold and comfortable to use as a phone. With the screen unfolded it was an awesome little tablet and Samsung's skin was very nice for multitasking.

I traded it in for an iPhone 13 Pro Max. Why? It is still not durable. I dropped mine one time and the outer display stopped working. I do have to say, Samsung replaced it very quickly after I submitted an online case in their support site. When my replacement arrived I continued using it, but was much more careful. I ride bikes in dusty places a lot, and so the fact that it is not dust resistant worried me quite a lot. I would put the phone in a baggy when I was out bicycling. I do sometimes miss reading ebooks on its unfolded screen, it was a great substitute for my Kindle Oasis for short reading sessions, my iPhone is not as favorable, however my iPhone is extremely durable and that wins out.

Oh, that crease is annoying in the same way the notch is annoying. you stop seeing it.

 

[suns93]

Way too many compromises and added costs all to go from 6.2” to 7.6”. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze.

Now 5.4” (iPhone mini) to 8.3” (iPad mini) and you’ve got my attention.

Small and very easily handled with one hand for texts, calls, and quick browsing expanding into something that’s an actually pleasant content consuming size.

But I’ll acknowledge I may not be the target demo here. I could see someone that has a long daily commute for work/school on public transportation getting enough out of the tiny screen bump and prioritizing not having to carry or buy a tablet.

 

[nathansz]

a young woman i work with has a foldable phone of some kind or another. not sure what it is. unfolded it’s about the screen size of my iphone 12 mini. maybe even a smidge smaller?

it actually looks pretty impressive. there is no visible seam and she’ll often have it folded around a 45 degree angle scrolling through it and it kinda looks cool watching content fluidly scroll across the fold

 

[bobcomer]

Galaxy Z Flip out in the wild and I could not believe something like that is being sold and that customers don't seem to mind it either?

I have the third version of the Galaxy Flip and love it. When I'm using it I really don't see the crease. I do feel it, but still like the phone.

 

[Abazigal]

Can we at lease give Samsung credit for trying something different? My co-worker has one at work and he loved it. our job requires us to review tickets and sometimes we need to do that on site with the customer. Doing this on an iPhone is clunky, I personally either carry a laptop with me or print out the ticket. Problem is you waste paper and the laptop is annoying, you have to open it up, wake from sleep.

My co-worker just opens up the full ticket and reads all the details without issue.

Remember too, this crowd was the same one bemoaning the Samsung Note back in 2011, yet four years later Apple followed suit with the iPhone 6 Plus and has released even bigger phones since.

Tim Cook made fun of the Surface Pro, yet, there is the iPad Pro with Magic keyboard and stylus. I rather say it’s different rather that bash it with merit less criticism.

The issue here is that people are trying to conflate "trying something different" with "folding phones are the future and Apple is lagging behind for not offering something similar". It's the same scenario with smart speakers all over again, where the tech was similarly so eager to play this up as the next revolution in computing, just to sell clickbait headlines about how Apple was supposedly doomed.

I feel this is disingenuous because it blinds people to the legitimate issues with said product, and it makes people less than objective when it comes to evaluating the merits of Apple products, and the audience is worse off for it.