Samsung Galaxy Fold

[tbayrgs]

Smartwatch and wireless earbuds innovative? Seems more like examples of what I was talking about. They saw existing products, added a level of Apple polish, hiked the price, and marketed them as innovative .

You don't have to be first to innovate. Yes, the definition that usually comes first to mind, to introduce something new, is what Apple rarely does. But innovate also has another meaning:

- make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.

Apple often excels at this type of innovation and the Apple Watch and AirPods are perfect examples, as is the iPhone.

 

[Awesomesince86]

You don't have to be first to innovate. Yes, the definition that usually comes first to mind, to introduce something new, is what Apple rarely does. But innovate also has another meaning:

- make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.

Apple often excels at this type of innovation and the Apple Watch and AirPods are perfect examples, as is the iPhone.

Id agree with the iPhone but disagree regarding the watch and Airpods.

How are the Airpods innovative? Sound quality? Nope. Battery life? Nope. They connect in a cool way but that's about it. I guess you could say the charging case maybe.

 

[5105973]

Smartwatch and wireless earbuds innovative? Seems more like examples of what I was talking about. They saw existing products, added a level of Apple polish, hiked the price, and marketed them as innovative .

How those products are innovative has been discussed previously in other threads and good points had been made both pro and con, with nobody ever truly winning what is really a matter of personal opinion. Here it's just an aside observation to the main point at hand, so I will happily concede to your points, so as to not derail the discussion.

Apple is meaningful to me personally on this thread only because I realized I could not, at this point in time, switch from the iPad mini to the Fold. The Fold is just too expensive and won't give back the performance and reliability I need it to. I unfortunately am not in the position to buy it for the pure thrill of test piloting it, so to speak.

So I opted to upgrade my Mini 4 (with its dying battery) and continue on to Mini 5 with Apple pencil compatibility, which should tide me over until somebody, preferably Samsung, develops foldables into something I can count on in practical terms as my daily driver smartphone AND my recreational small tablet.

I am also actually forgoing the Note 10 I was coveting as a possible Mini alternative this year. $300 on a pencil capable mini tablet vs. about $1000 for the Note...there is no contest when you factor in I already got a beautiful Samsung phone for a little over $400. I'm really riding the wave on deals and bargains this year. I do still have to carry and manage two separate devices but they're refined and elegant entities whose combined total cost to me is still under $1000 after trade in allowances.

But folding 😉 the separate expenses of a smart phone and small pencil/pen capable tablet into one device purchase would be my ideal scenario, and why I'm really rooting for Samsung to make a go of this. They're obviously not there yet, but I applaud their first effort and hope to see it steered from total failure to something they can build upon.

 

[jamezr]

Id agree with the iPhone but disagree regarding the watch and Airpods.

How are the Airpods innovative? Sound quality? Nope. Battery life? Nope. They connect in a cool way but that's about it. I guess you could say the charging case maybe.

I agree that the iPhone was once innovative when it was launched there was nothing like it..... but the competition caught up and in some respects passed the iphone.
But I do think the Apple watch is a very innovative product. The features and uses that Apple brought to the smart watch have never been done before.
I don't think Airpods are innovative as much as they are just different in a different form factor.

 

[AustinIllini]

Joanna Stern speaking truths. A $2000 phone should not be held together by a cheap piece of plastic.

Crap product.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/samsun...33?redirect=amp#click=https://t.co/HJ7TPEVv3n

 

[FFR]

Joanna Stern speaking truths. A $2000 phone should not be held together by a cheap piece of plastic.

Crap product.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/samsun...33?redirect=amp#click=https://t.co/HJ7TPEVv3n

That was brutal.

 

[Zito Abroad]

Joanna Stern speaking truths. A $2000 phone should not be held together by a cheap piece of plastic.

Crap product.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/samsun...33?redirect=amp#click=https://t.co/HJ7TPEVv3n

OMG! Finally! The great Joanna Stern has spoken. I was waiting for her end-all-be-all word on the matter. I was losing sleep, but now, I can sleep well again. She has so much experience with developing bleeding edge tech, and therefore, it is she, to decide, how bleeding edge tech should be introduced to the masses. Thank you Joanna, thank you. In other words, her opinion, and the opinion of every other "tech reviewer" is toilet paper to me. Ever since getting out of the walled garden, I no longer jump on the "hate everything, and put down everything not Apple" band wagon. I can truly say, as a former Apple follower, tech media are Apple brown nosers. If the industry waits on companies who define courage as, removing a headphone jack, to move the industry forward, we may as all just forget about the next form factor for another decade. So glad to be in the Android sphere now, and to have so much choice. Full steam ahead with the Fold!

 

[cardfan]

If bleeding edge tech involves going back a couple decades to plastic screens with a crappy screen protector that you can’t remove and peels from a corner...lol.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I agree that the iPhone was once innovative when it was launched there was nothing like it..... but the competition caught up and in some respects passed the iphone.
But I do think the Apple watch is a very innovative product. The features and uses that Apple brought to the smart watch have never been done before.
I don't think Airpods are innovative as much as they are just different in a different form factor.

The only thing remotely interesting about the AirPods is the way they automatically pair to other Apple devices one they’ve been set up with your iPhone. However aside from that, small wireless earphones that have a charging case have been done before.

The Apple Watch I think is interesting because Apple are thinking a little outside of the box. Most smart watches do the basics like notifications, calls, reminders and fitness tracking. However the interesting part for me is the way they are using it for health features like the ECG, irregular heart rate detection and falls detection.

 

[Ralfi]

Id agree with the iPhone but disagree regarding the watch and Airpods.

How are the Airpods innovative? Sound quality? Nope. Battery life? Nope. They connect in a cool way but that's about it. I guess you could say the charging case maybe.

They got the whole convenience/sound quality/portability/battery/connectivity package right. & it made sense for many people.

They’re a seamless compliment to the iPhone, which many users appreciate.

Personally, they made smartphone speakers redundant as I’m able to wear them all day & not be a nuisance to others. They were also a conduit to discovering new music - I found once liberated by zero wires via a product that worked this well, as a package, subscribing to Spotify/Apple Music became a much more value for money option, as I was able to listen to music for longer during my work day.

 

[Shanghaichica]

They got the whole convenience/sound quality/portability/battery/connectivity package right. & it made sense for many people.

They’re a seamless compliment to the iPhone, which many users appreciate.

Personally, they made smartphone speakers redundant as I’m able to wear them all day & not be a nuisance to others. They were also a conduit to discovering new music - I found once liberated by zero wires via a product that worked this well, as a package, subscribing to Spotify/Apple Music became a much more value for money option, as I was able to listen to music for longer during my work day.

They are great for all the reasons you listed above, but apart from the pairing I don’t think any of that stuff is new. Doesn’t stop them from being a great product though. I love mine. I don’t use the speaker on my iPhone to listen to music it’s either my AirPods, HomePods or echos. However they did a good job with the speaker on the Xs max. I often use it to listen to podcasts and to watch the odd YouTube video.
[doublepost=1555754451][/doublepost]Back to the fold, I was thinking about how I find it so difficult to leave the Apple ecosystem because of how well my Apple products work together. However a future fold could be my ecosystem all in one device, phone, tablet and computer (via dex).

 

[SteveJUAE]

3rd of May is supposedly announcement/release date in Malaysia 🙂

 

[AustinIllini]

OMG! Finally! The great Joanna Stern has spoken. I was waiting for her end-all-be-all word on the matter. I was losing sleep, but now, I can sleep well again. She has so much experience with developing bleeding edge tech, and therefore, it is she, to decide, how bleeding edge tech should be introduced to the masses. Thank you Joanna, thank you. In other words, her opinion, and the opinion of every other "tech reviewer" is toilet paper to me. Ever since getting out of the walled garden, I no longer jump on the "hate everything, and put down everything not Apple" band wagon. I can truly say, as a former Apple follower, tech media are Apple brown nosers. If the industry waits on companies who define courage as, removing a headphone jack, to move the industry forward, we may as all just forget about the next form factor for another decade. So glad to be in the Android sphere now, and to have so much choice. Full steam ahead with the Fold!

So flush it down the toilet right after you throw $1980 down first. It's a shame Samsung messed this up so badly.
[doublepost=1555763418][/doublepost]

That was brutal.

She wants to like it, but it's just not ready yet.

 

[jamezr]

The only thing remotely interesting about the AirPods is the way they automatically pair to other Apple devices one they’ve been set up with your iPhone. However aside from that, small wireless earphones that have a charging case have been done before.

The Apple Watch I think is interesting because Apple are thinking a little outside of the box. Most smart watches do the basics like notifications, calls, reminders and fitness tracking. However the interesting part for me is the way they are using it for health features like the ECG, irregular heart rate detection and falls detection.

The health features are amazing...the AW has saved lives

 

[The Game 161]

The only thing remotely interesting about the AirPods is the way they automatically pair to other Apple devices one they’ve been set up with your iPhone. However aside from that, small wireless earphones that have a charging case have been done before.

The Apple Watch I think is interesting because Apple are thinking a little outside of the box. Most smart watches do the basics like notifications, calls, reminders and fitness tracking. However the interesting part for me is the way they are using it for health features like the ECG, irregular heart rate detection and falls detection.

I think both Apple Watch and air pods are innovative due to how they sync.

I have found that out with the galaxy watch and trying to connect to music. The air pods connect to all apple devices instantly without needing to open your phone. Put your air pods in with the Apple Watch and music or podcasts work without you needing to touch your phone.

Apple Watch and air pods are two products that for many makes it impossible to be without an iPhone.

As for the fold i just hope they get this right and there are no issues on the retail issues as they are going ahead with this launch when they could have waited to review the units that were affected.

 

[jamezr]

They are great for all the reasons you listed above, but apart from the pairing I don’t think any of that stuff is new. Doesn’t stop them from being a great product though. I love mine. I don’t use the speaker on my iPhone to listen to music it’s either my AirPods, HomePods or echos. However they did a good job with the speaker on the Xs max. I often use it to listen to podcasts and to watch the odd YouTube video.
[doublepost=1555754451][/doublepost]Back to the fold, I was thinking about how I find it so difficult to leave the Apple ecosystem because of how well my Apple products work together. However a future fold could be my ecosystem all in one device, phone, tablet and computer (via dex).

That is a future can't wait to embrace....

 

[The Game 161]

That is a future can't wait to embrace....

It’s a future i want

However for me the size for the folded tablet needs to be right. I mean a 6.5 inch screen on the iPhone and 12.9 pro is what i have now. Dunno think i would struggle if the screen sizes are less than this.

 

[5105973]

So flush it down the toilet right after you throw $1980 down first. It's a shame Samsung messed this up so badly.
[doublepost=1555763418][/doublepost]
She wants to like it, but it's just not ready yet.

Ugh, sorry I’m really hungry. Right now the desecration of a real NYC street vendor hotdog is more horrifying to me than the desecration of the Fold. 😱

I do wish she would have reviewed the second Fold that she got. I didn’t read the article because it’s behind the paywall, so if she reviewed it in writing I didn’t get to see it. But I saw the video and I did see that she used the first device despite peeling up the corner. I wish she would have talked about what that experience was like and done more to explore the replacement device rather than petulantly turn it into a hotdog roll.

Yes it sucks that the device is so fragile and has what it probably a fatal flaw for most buyers. But I don’t think she fully appreciates the unique position she is in and failed to make the most of it.

She could have made her point about the stupidity of the screen protector situation but still showed us everything else she got to experience and let us make up our own minds. I don’t like being told what to do with my own money. I can make up my own mind. But that’s the media for you now, they want to do your thinking for you. It’s not enough anymore to just lay out the facts and let you decide for yourself.

That was like cheap YouTube clickbait.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Ugh, sorry I’m really hungry. Right now the desecration of a real NYC street vendor hotdog is more horrifying to me than the desecration of the Fold. 😱

I do wish she would have reviewed the second Fold that she got. I didn’t read the article because it’s behind the paywall, so if she reviewed it in writing I didn’t get to see it. But I saw the video and I did see that she used the first device despite peeling up the corner. I wish she would have talked about what that experience was like and done more to explore the replacement device rather than petulantly turn it into a hotdog roll.

Yes it sucks that the device is so fragile and has what it probably a fatal flaw for most buyers. But I don’t think she fully appreciates the unique position she is in and failed to make the most of it.

She could have made her point about the stupidity of the screen protector situation but still showed us everything else she got to experience and let us make up our own minds. I don’t like being told what to do with my own money. I can make up my own mind. But that’s the media for you now, they want to do your thinking for you. It’s not enough anymore to just lay out the facts and let you decide for yourself.

That was like cheap YouTube clickbait.

I don’t think she reviewed it fairly. I think Dieter from the verge was much fairer in his video review despite his unit failing.

 

[5105973]

Joanna Stern speaking truths. A $2000 phone should not be held together by a cheap piece of plastic.

Crap product.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/samsun...33?redirect=amp#click=https://t.co/HJ7TPEVv3n

She’s not speaking the complete truth of what this release is about. What are the terms Samsung is offering to people to essentially be beta testers? How are they rolling this out? It may actually still be an appealing thing to take part in if the terms are right. We don’t know. She doesn’t tell us.

Yes it’s a very flawed product. But were you around to remember what passed as finished products in the 90’s when “anything goes” was the prevailing spirit and there wasn’t any ideal standard?

iPhone made the current slab of glass seem so inevitable and so obvious but there was a time before the iPhone when manufacturers tried everything. And they put it out there and the reviewers reported on all of it and we consumers decided what we would try.

As a couple starting out, we couldn’t afford to each try everything back then, so my husband was the family beta tester. And he had so many crazy handhelds. I remember window shopping all sorts of funky Pocket PCs and Palm devices and then eventually devices that were similar to those but also miraculously managed to have cellular connectivity. We saw some really interesting “fatal flaws” and “not ready for primetimes”.

Some were evolutionary dead ends. But some introduced concepts that live on in our devices today.

A revolution can’t happen without a certain degree of evolution. No, this isn’t ideal but it needs a chance to evolve.

 

[jamezr]

I don’t think she reviewed it fairly. I think Dieter from the verge was much fairer in his video review despite his unit failing.

I agree...Dieter did a much better job looking at the big picture.

This one from AC gets it too...

That's an idea Samsung is familiar with and has perfected. Looking back, can anyone say the original Galaxy Note was a failure? It was expensive, very few were sold, and it needed several versions of refinement to turn into the mainstream success the Note line has become.

Give the Fold a couple of versions, and it may turn out the same

Samsung has a track record of perfecting a product category. The Fold will be the same.

https://www.androidcentral.com/one-...mpaign=Feed:+androidcentral+(Android+Central)

 

[AustinIllini]

The jello effect on the screen looks awful. Again, this product is not ready for the mainstream.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Grumpymom how are you finding the iPad mini 5?

I’ve ordered one to pick up on Monday to replace my iPad mini 4.
[doublepost=1555781714][/doublepost]

The jello effect on the screen looks awful. Again, this product is not ready for the mainstream.

I would have to see it in real life to know if it would bother me or not. It would have to be quite bad though. I’m quite tolerant of many things.

 

[Zito Abroad]

The jello effect on the screen looks awful. Again, this product is not ready for the mainstream.

Where and when did you get your Fold?

 

[Tsepz]

I didn’t think they will make enough. I would have been interested in getting one later on in the year as I’m just so compelled. However I think they will be in short supply.

I’m going to be starting a new job much closer to home (no more 4 hour commutes). They offer a very generous bonus for joining the company which will more than pay for the fold. Of course I could have bought one outright but it seems a bit extravagant. Using some of my welcome bonus would allow me to buy it without feeling guilty. However I feel they will just be in limited supply.
[doublepost=1555658557][/doublepost]
It could just be a manufacturing defect on his unit and perhaps something was under screen out of the box. It happens to like when people say they bought an iPad/iPhone and it has dust under the screen.

Congratulations man! That is amazing.

You are a tech enthusiast, no shame in our passion look at this way, there are people who spend +$5000 on car mods regularly, a Mate of mine immigrated to the USA a few years ago, and he is splurging on parts for his VW Golf GTI