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I’ve said this ad nauseam, but here we go.

It’s always funny when people say, I don’t get why anyone would want a foldable phone. Cool…you don’t want one. But there’s a big difference between not for me and no one wants this.

Some people work almost entirely from their phones when they’re traveling or out in the field. Being able to expand your screen for multitasking, documents, video calls, or content creation isn’t a gimmick it’s a productivity boost. Others just prefer the versatility or the compact form factor when folded.

Technology doesn’t have to fit your use case to be valid. If you don’t see a reason to buy a foldable, totally fine. It’s just a stretch when people who don’t want foldables attempt to speak for everyone else.
It’s a business product for people who use two phones but don’t carry a bag where a more functional tablet or convertible can be carried.

Fringe use.
 
Haters have no real experience with current foldables. And I don't mean a 3 minute visit to BestBuy. The Fold 7 was enough to get me to switch from iOS. It's a marvel and I'm never going back to a plain vanilla slab phone. Not when I can have a slab + tablet that's the same size and weight as a regular phone.
 
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Have to agree here. I never understood the desire for a foldable phone. Still don't.
This is a bizarre sentiment to me.
I completely understand why someone would think a foldable phone is not worth the tradeoffs—I don't have one because the tradeoffs aren't worth it to me. But to not be able to understand why some people want them?

A larger screen space is usually a positive on a computing device. A smaller device is usually a positive, if it's something you carry on your person. A folding phone allows you to have a screen that has a bigger area than that of the minimum size of the device.

There are tradeoffs: the device is thicker/heavier than a phone that has a screen the same size as the outer screen. The device is significantly less durable. The inside screen is softer, and maybe not perfectly flat due to the crease.

I have a smaller car, and no desire for a big truck, but I understand why some people want or need trucks.
 
Had to double check the date of the article.

How is it possible Huawei did this in 2024 for $2,800?

View attachment 2573517

But Samsung is finally doing the same thing in 2026, also for $2,800? Somehow, Samsung is also thicker?
Huawei were and are the best. It's unfortunate that other companies couldn't stand being walked all over when it comes to tech. I believe they had started getting better market share
 
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Tri-fold actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. These phones already have front and inside displays. Just wrap the front around to the inside and there you go. Main issue is idk how that outer screen fold with no protective glass doesn’t get beaten to absolute hell. Or how the front doesn’t either, assuming there is no protective glass since idk how you transition from glass to no glass around the edge.
 
Nice to see a different form of foldable from Samsung. Expecting the second gen to be available globally. Will be many years before Apple even thinks of having a trifold, if ever. The price is very high. Will be good if in the future, the normal Z Fold reduces in price and this new trifold is priced closer to $1999.
 
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there's the beginning of the end of tablets <10" ... definitely in a few years when pricing comes down
Ehhhh no. They’re charging an arm and a leg for this all so i can run my battery down faster in one device. At least if i come home from work, i can pick up a fully charged iPad (that’s made for tablet use) and have another 10 hours on it
 
MacRumors commentors: "whaaaah I don't have a use for a folding phone, no one else should have one, Apple shouldn't make a folding phone, it will never sell."

Apple makes a folding phone that sells for $2500.

Sold out first week of launch.
 
One thing you have to credit Samsung for is that they’re willing to throw any and everything at the wall to see if it sticks.
Sh that old chestnut 🌰 because apple haven’t done it yet and then when apple finally releases a foldable it will suddenly be yes that’s what we needed it happens all the time dismiss the competition and when apple does it it’s suddenly a brilliant idea.
 
It’s a business product for people who use two phones but don’t carry a bag where a more functional tablet or convertible can be carried.

Fringe use.
Or it’s for individuals like this when out and about they use it one handed mode and then inside they can then sit down and open it up to use & watch content just like my mum does
 
I don’t follow what’s wrong with square ratio for websites and media.

Many want plenty of ample space to watch media without accidental disruption by hands + ample room for editing controls as well as most Websites not really built for a particular aspect ratio by design (media queries to allow devs to do that are rarely used objectively for the past 15+ years).
With videos, it creates top and bottom black bars that are as big as the video. You're basically wasting half the screen. I find expanding a YouTube video to full screen doesn't make your video much larger than when you're just watching it in a window. With a 4:3, while that is not optimal for video it is still better than a near square. When it comes to web browsing, vertical space is the most important to avoid excessive scrolling. Also depending on how a web page flows, you may have a bunch of nothing on the right of the screen. If you enlarge a web page to fill the horizontal screen, you end up not seeing much vertically. 4:3 is a good compromise between web browsing and video watching.
 
Tri folds might have more utility than bi folds imo. If you look at the Huawei trifold you’re basically getting an iPad mini size tablet rather than the more squareish bi folds.
Utility-wise, this is probably true, but the extra fold puts the price higher than a high end MacBook Pro. That makes the standard foldable a lot better. The trifold ends up being 50% more expensive than a bifold phone. If they cost the same, I'd seriously consider a trifold even if it's a little too thick when folded. But the price puts it out of range. I wouldn't even buy a bifold, but trade-in values make the high price a bit easier to stomach. I traded in a phone with a cracked screen and got $1100 for it, bringing my Z Fold 7 down to just under $1000. $2800 for a trifold just isn't worth it to me. There are some who will buy it, but the audience is a lot more limited.
 
"so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
They ABSOLUTELY should. This is how you push boundaries.

I have an iPhone Pro Max, do I wish it could circumvent the laws of physics and be smaller and lighter in my pocket? Yes - I do. If reliable, this technologhy might turn out to be a useful halfway house.
 
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Glad to see the innovation in this space by Samsung and others, but man does that seem fragile to me. I'll have to go check one out when they hit the streets.
 
Back when screens were 3.5”, I still used it mostly as just a device for making phone calls. I still mostly use my iPhone for the same purpose. At home, I’d use my laptop or desktop rather than subject myself to a painful phone screen. The creation of the iPad was awesome because we could finally have a decent screen. I got an iPad the first day it came out.

I still cannot see how people can stare at a phone screen for six hours a day, but somehow they do to continuously demand more and more battery life. But to each his own, I guess.
Without being cheeky that’s because you have grown up in a world before smartphones
Where as most individuals under 30 have a different mindset
 
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