TV Ad Reveals Samsung's Unannounced 'Galaxy Z Flip' Phone

[Brandon916]

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.

It's a glass screen. The maker of gorilla glass on most phones, corning, just invented it. Yes, they can bend glass now.

 

[Unity451]

The only positive thing about foldable phones is that it'll give back the satisfaction of hanging up on someone.

 

[neoelectronaut]

I love the move back to small devices, but it's a shame that we have to deal with the growing pains of foldable screen tech to do so.

 

[DeepIn2U]

What’s the point here? Dramatically increasing the friction to lower smartphone addiction?

The Fold value proposition was much clearer: a tablet screen in a smartphone sized* device.

*kind of

my perspective: the Fold failed! Took too long to replace with a better more resilient screen.

issues of folding screens re-emerged with Motorola’s modern Razr as its folding mechanism looked very promising yet it too had issues first week of launch!

folding = garbage as of right now. More research needs to be done as this tech is NOT ready for prime time
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I find that quite interesting. Back in the "good old days", phones like the Motorola RAZR were what everybody wanted to have. And back then, John Gruber didn't post such nonsense about the RAZR.

Maybe, just maybe, some people still just want... a phone in their pockets? And maybe, just maybe, there are still people out there who use their phone like... a phone? Could this MAYBE be the target audience for such a device?

did jOhn Gruber have any relevance back when the original 3 versions of Razr was launched?! Not likely. Too many people out too much worth I to his opinions here.

 

[VulchR]

Why not just use two flat screens and a precision-machined hinge?

 

[nylonsteel]

life long term warranty for crease damage would be good

 

[Kr15]

A flip makes sense so a phone screen can become almost small tablet size. Nice.

But this thing? Huh? So a phone screen can become half a phone screen when folded?? For what? Mini purses for mini people?

Phone belt holsters, remember those?! 🙄

 

[Zito Abroad]

It's a glass screen. The maker of gorilla glass on most phones, corning, just invented it. Yes, they can bend glass now.

Incorrect. Samsung just trademarked UTG (Ultra Thin Glass.) the manufacturer for this is a Samsung subsidiary, DOWOO INSYS. They are the leading manufacturer in bendable glass. Corning is nowhere near having bendable glass.

 

[quietstormSD]

That looks pretty slick

 

[mazz0]

"You may notice a small crease in the center of the main screen, which is a natural characteristic of the screen," reads the ad's small print.

Flippin’ ‘eck (no pun intended)! “Small print” is right!

It gets nostalgia points for reminding me of my Game Boy Pocket.

By the way, how come some stuff on iPhone (eg Music) plays even when the ringer switch is on mute while some stuff (eg embedded YouTube videos) doesn’t? It’s quite annoying.

 

[smirking]

I remember the first sidekick. My ex-boyfriend had one. He went to other side of London to get it and was pleased with it. I think he just liked getting the keyboard out to be honest. My husband had the G1 and he seemed to be fascinated with sliding the keyboard in and out.

Yes! They really made the tactile experience of that device amazing. It was hard to resist the urge to fiddle with it. If only the rest of the device was any good, it would have been a great early smartphone, but that version 1 was more or less a beta device. I remember trying to take photos with the camera attachment that plugged into the headphone jack. The photos were entirely unusuable. They always looked like 16x16 icons blown up to full screen size.

Sadly, after version 1, they got rid of the flip out screen in favor of a slide out one that was more compact. The device did get better, but I never got another one because then there was nothing that made the device any better than the Blackberry that I ended up moving on to.

 

[farewelwilliams]

None of Samsung’s smart watches ran ‘android’. Those watches you’re referring to ran Tizen OS Which Samsung still use on their current smart watches. Tizen is Samsung’s own operating system.

Wrong. Original Galaxy Gear ran Android. Heavily modified 4.3 IIRC. Go Google it.

Also Samsung rebased their first smartwatche almost 2 years before the first Apple Watch was released

Never said they didn't.

Maybe you’re referring to the Samsung gear Live which Samsung made for google as a launch device for the wear OS platform. Which is a completely separate platform.

Nope.

As for software support for these phones. Google have already implemented support for foldable devices into the current version of android and have spoken about their intentions for continued support in upcoming releases. Also Samsung have their own software which will no doubt continue to support foldable devices.

As a software developer, you don't release an app without testing it. Resources to test on that aspect ratio as well as app continuity is expensive. There's a reason why apps on iOS are far superior than Android's counterpart. Less fragmentation and extreme longevity + consistency of the APIs make iOS development great.

 

[szw-mapple fan]

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.

Apple has skipped many such “innovations” in the past because it doesn’t offer any actual improvements for the user. Remember the curved displays on the galaxy note edge?

 

[macfacts]

Poor Samsung… copying everyone and throwing everything at the wall... yet nothing sticks.

One size does not fit all, what is wrong with choice?

 

[realtuner]

I really like the idea, but I think technology is not good enough for this yet. That crease is unacceptable and overall those folding displays are too unreliable for now.

There’s a lot more that’s unacceptable besides the crease. Having a flexible screen that scratches easily is another one. Also a screen that feels “squishy” when you tap on it. Just compare laminated iPad screens to the budget iPad with a non-laminated screen. Then imagine a screen that’s even worse than a non-laminated iPad and you have a folding phone screen.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Wrong. Original Galaxy Gear ran Android. Heavily modified 4.3 IIRC. Go Google it.


Never said they didn't.


Nope.



As a software developer, you don't release an app without testing it. Resources to test on that aspect ratio as well as app continuity is expensive. There's a reason why apps on iOS are far superior than Android's counterpart. Less fragmentation and extreme longevity + consistency of the APIs make iOS development great.

But the original gear received a software update to Tizen. You make it sound as if the watch was just abandoned and didn’t get any updates.


Yes I understand why developing apps is easier on iOS. It doesn’t mean that developers should just abandon other things platforms. Not everyone wants or can have an iPhone. I have an iPhone but there should be choices for other types of devices or OS.

 

[satchmo]

Perhaps not perfect, but at least they're pushing the envelope.

I'm not sure we've seen really anything new from Apple from a smartphone perspective.
I've give them Facetime, but otherwise, it's been iterations of a better camera and faster processors.

 

[farewelwilliams]

But the original gear received a software update to Tizen. You make it sound as if the watch was just abandoned and didn’t get any updates.

Was correcting your statement "None of Samsung’s smart watches ran ‘android’" which is factually wrong. It did run Android.

Yes I understand why developing apps is easier on iOS. It doesn’t mean that developers should just abandon other things platforms. Not everyone wants or can have an iPhone. I have an iPhone but there should be choices for other types of devices or OS.

I never said abandon Android. I'm saying this throwing of spaghetti against the wall means Samsung is scaring all developers from giving new platforms a shot. They're going to try one thing, developer will develop for it, then that specific platform dies and all of the work by that developer is wasted. Not cool in my book.

 

[CausticSoda]

For all those saying there is no place for this for smartphones, I disagree. I don't have a "max" size iPhone solely because it is too large for my trouser pockets (I tried one and took it back after a month). However, one folded in half would fit, because thickness is not the issue, but the other dimensions, particularly the height. That all said, it remains to be seen whether the crease would be acceptable and robust enough.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Was correcting your statement "None of Samsung’s smart watches ran ‘android’" which is factually wrong. It did run Android.



I never said abandon Android. I'm saying this throwing of spaghetti against the wall means Samsung is scaring all developers from giving new platforms a shot. They're going to try one thing, developer will develop for it, then that specific platform dies and all of the work by that developer is wasted. Not cool in my book.

Fair enough.


Not really. Android developers usually just make a general app which is then expected to adapt and scale up to the various screen sizes and resolutions on android devices. I’m sure the developers will just continue to do what they always do. However Samsung have some clout so I’m sure they will be able to get some developers on board.
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Perhaps not perfect, but at least they're pushing the envelope.

I'm not sure we've seen really anything new from Apple from a smartphone perspective.
I've give them Facetime, but otherwise, it's been iterations of a better camera and faster processors.

Biometric security.

They started the assistant movement but have now been surpassed.

Mobile Payments- They were not the first bit they got it off the ground.

Software features-Integration with other devices


That’s what I’d say Apple has done in the mobile phone space in say the last decade.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Not really. Android developers usually just make a general app which is then expected to adapt and scale up to the various screen sizes and resolutions on android devices. I’m sure the developers will just continue to do what they always do. However Samsung have some clout so I’m sure they will be able to get some developers on board.

We'll agree to disagree here.
I mean, Apple has made the same mistakes too. App developers spent a lot of energy developing "glance" widgets and "time travel" features into their Apple Watch app. Now that Apple axed those features, developers are fleeing away from Watch dev until Apple can stabilize watchOS.

 

[Shanghaichica]

We'll agree to disagree here.
I mean, Apple has made the same mistakes too. App developers spent a lot of energy developing "glance" widgets and "time travel" features into their Apple Watch app. Now that Apple axed those features, developers are fleeing away from Watch dev until Apple can stabilize watchOS.

I think app development on the Apple Watch is still healthy and will continue to be so with the amount of watches Apple are selling.

I think an example of an abandoned platform is the Apple TV. There was a lot of promise but nothing materialised. Although maybe things will improve with arcade, at least on the game front.

 

[H2SO4]

except, we shouldn’t applaud Samsung for throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks.

Yes we should. It's STILL innovation. Don't like it don't buy it, but name another company that has got this far with it. I'll start a lot for you.
1. Not my company.
2. ...........

 

[farewelwilliams]

Yes we should. It's STILL innovation. Don't like it don't buy it, but name another company that has got this far with it. I'll start a lot for you.
1. Not my company.
2. ...........

What do you mean "got this far with it"? Your post is so ambiguous.

And no, we shouldn't applaud this behavior.

 

[realtuner]

Not really. Android developers usually just make a general app which is then expected to adapt and scale up to the various screen sizes and resolutions on android devices. I’m sure the developers will just continue to do what they always do. However Samsung have some clout so I’m sure they will be able to get some developers on board.

Not usually. Pretty much ALL Android Apps are general Apps that rely on scaling to work on larger screens. This is why Android is utter garbage on tablets (and also on Chromebooks).

Samsung has clout? Have you seen their App Store and all the glaring omissions? Or how few Apps over the years have bothered to support Samsung APIs for features that are specific to certain devices (remember the Note Edge?)?

If there’s one thing Samsung DOESN'T have is clout over developers.