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TV Ad Reveals Samsung's Unannounced 'Galaxy Z Flip' Phone
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If they wanted to do it right they would have put a full OLED screen on the closed size so you wouldn't have to open it at all but use that size for FaceTime calls, answering calls and smaller screen app and web use.
Also have a latch pause when it's open partway in order to make it a stand for a table for FaceTime or watching a video.
Imagine an iPhone 11 pro max with half the size for users with small fingers desiring the SE keyboard and screen size, then if desired flip open to the full size pro size with all the camera goodness all while remaining the same thickness of the 11 max pro when closed. That's when Jony Ives insaneness for thinness shines thru. Also would solve the bendgate problems.
Also have a latch pause when it's open partway in order to make it a stand for a table for FaceTime or watching a video.
Imagine an iPhone 11 pro max with half the size for users with small fingers desiring the SE keyboard and screen size, then if desired flip open to the full size pro size with all the camera goodness all while remaining the same thickness of the 11 max pro when closed. That's when Jony Ives insaneness for thinness shines thru. Also would solve the bendgate problems.
RAZR was also a lot thinner and longer. So it wasn’t stupidly fat when folded. And it was about as long and thick as the original iPhone when folded. So it made sense to fold it.
Moving parts are the weakest points on every electronic device I've owned. Someone's going to have to prove that adding a key moving part to one of the most abused electronic devices sold today is actually a good idea before I'll consider it. A bendable screen is an interesting novelty, but I think the vast majority of people using cell phones want a phone that just works when they need it. I just don't get why this is any more than a curiosity.
I suppose it will not solve any problem until Apple does it, which will be the time the era of the foldable is officially declared opened and revolutionary.
A good looking bad idea... A phone to be opened for any usage is just a solution to a self made problem.
And that is even written in the ad!! Omg! hahahah
Hey, this kind of phone can be very popular indeed. But until they resolve this"small creases" this tech will not be for me. hahahah
Why not? This is how they function. What's wrong with that? They create jobs. Some spaghetti might stick. Are there rules for innovation or something?
Apparently it can be folded at any angle so has multiple viewing angles.
Who is "we?" Are you speaking on behalf of every iPhone user? If it weren't were Samsung, your iphone might still have a 3.5" screen. If it weren't for Samsung perfecting OLED displays for 5 generations before Apple, your screen might still be an LCD.
Some use cases might find this a great improved. Just from the original to the Z Fold, we have new screen tech. Are you suggesting a company simply not release products until you are satisfied? Is it affecting your purchase decision or the market in an adverse way?
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I can't tell if you're being sarcastic. I take it you're not impressed lol. Continue being upset the product exists then.
I would love to have a phone the size of or smaller than my old Motorola Krzr. I'm a small-ish man with small-ish pockets, and, while I love the screen real estate of all the current iPhones, I'd much rather have a phone that doesn't take up so much pocket space. I know everyone is poking fun of these "new" foldable designs, but if they're done well, eventually, we could have phones that are half the size (or less) of the current iPhones when folded. So is the current size a "problem?" That's subjective. Personally, I would consider a smaller, foldable phone an improvement. Either way, I do wonder if we won't move away from the trend toward larger screen real estate. At the very least, these new foldables suggest there's a possible pendulum swing (away from large phones) on the horizon. I'd venture a guess that one day folks may say, "Wow at those crazy huge 'iPhone Plus/Max' phones everyone used to have... Grandpa, that looks like you're holding a piece of toast up to your face." Edit: I found an old Gen 2 iPod Touch a few weeks ago, and all I could think when I was holding it was, "Wow, I wish I could get an iPhone that was this small." Not the same as a foldable, but you guys get the idea.
My wife asked me what I thought of the Samsung folding phone after the commercial was on. I said it looks great, but as I said to her - the plastic screen is going to be an issue, just as they were back when devices like Palm Pilots and various early touch screen phones all had them. And back then, the plastic screens weren’t getting the same type of use as devices today get, yet you couldn’t get through a year without scratches and marks showing up.
I also think that the hinge is going to be another weak point. Again, I remember friends and colleagues who had Razors back in the day, and the thing that always seemed to break first was the hinge. And much like the plastic screen issues, hinge issues are likely to manifest themselves much quicker, given how many times people will be opening and closing the device daily.
Just think about it - if, and it’s a big if, people only checked their folding phone 4 times an hour, for 16 hours a day, 365 days a year. That’s 23,360 open-close events annually. Factor in that the devices will live in our pockets, with the lint and dirt and other things we carry that will more than likely find their way into the hinge mechanism (not to mention behind the screen) and further cause issues to occur.
It’s a big ask for any manufacturer to get past all the issues that daily life of an internet device faces without failing - even in a non-folding device.
I also think that the hinge is going to be another weak point. Again, I remember friends and colleagues who had Razors back in the day, and the thing that always seemed to break first was the hinge. And much like the plastic screen issues, hinge issues are likely to manifest themselves much quicker, given how many times people will be opening and closing the device daily.
Just think about it - if, and it’s a big if, people only checked their folding phone 4 times an hour, for 16 hours a day, 365 days a year. That’s 23,360 open-close events annually. Factor in that the devices will live in our pockets, with the lint and dirt and other things we carry that will more than likely find their way into the hinge mechanism (not to mention behind the screen) and further cause issues to occur.
It’s a big ask for any manufacturer to get past all the issues that daily life of an internet device faces without failing - even in a non-folding device.
innovation doesn't mean anything if it doesn't actually take off. There has been several phones with special features. Samsung once put out a phone with a projector on the back. Guess what? No one wanted it.
Then they tried the Galaxy Round, and no one wants that either.
The Galaxy fold obviously failed, and I think this will too.
Apple has always been good at giving customers what they didn't know they wanted. The original iPad, no one actually thought it was a good idea til they started using it. Same with Apple Watch, and AirPods.
Samsung is good at throwing everything out and seeing what sticks. The Note stuck, but the Fold or the Flip will not
It might not solve anything. Judging from that ad, the intended target segment is someone in their teens to twenties. Possibly they're hoping to sell them on the novelty of a folding phone. If the tactile experience of opening it is really slick, it might make it attractive to some people who want a different experience.
I was tempted by the RAZR back in the day, but not just because it was so thin. I loved the tactility. It just had such a satisfying snap to it when you flipped it open or closed.
Along the similar lines, I ended up getting an early edition T-Mobile Sidekick. I sort of regret that decision. It sucked, but it was so much fun to flip that screen up. I should have just bought myself a fidget toy and an actual phone (like a RAZR).
The later edition Sidekicks were much more capable, but lost the fun swiveling screen that snapped to attention with a slight nudge. I wasn't at all tempted to try those.
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I am not by any stretch of the imagination a fan of Samsung’s phone department or the business strategies they follow, but I have to applaud the effort here to innovate and refine even after previous failures of foldable phones.
As a software developer, I'd hate to spend extra hours developing for new form factors only to find that the company will cut the support for the new device early because either they didn't sell enough or they thought of a new idea.
As a user, imagine only getting 1 year of updates for your phone.
Take a look at the 4 smart watches Samsung made in the span of 1 year before the Apple Watch was released. Some of them only got the initial release of Android and was never updated to the next major version of Android. What do you tell the developers of that device and as well as the users of that device?
With the first Apple Watch, correct me if I'm wrong but it got 4 years of support. I'm a satisfied customer and developer of said device.