Foldable smartphones have reached their fifth major generation, as heralded by Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5…
For me it’s definitely the durability concerns. I’ve valued my phone’s water and dust resistance since getting an ip67 phone years and years ago. My brother had a flip and a grain of sand in his pocket got under the display; when he closed the phone the display died. And they expect me to pay more for the privilege.
Price and durability. I don’t know, I can maybe get one eventually if I really want to, but shelling out like ~$1500 USD for a unproven screen design is pretty yikes to me. Plus, since my LG V60 is still serving me so well I really see no good reason to replace it.
The phrase “what’s stopping you” implies we’re all interested, but hesitant.
This is a really, really bad assumption.
Nobody’s mentioned it, but the main thing for me is that the screen aspect ratio isn’t any good.
I’ve always preferred bigger screens and bigger phones and willing to pay a bit extra for a foldable screen now they’ve been on the market for a while. I doubt they’ll last as long as a normal phone screen, but they generally review well and I get they impression they are more durable than most people expect.
But… the main benefit of a big screen (for me) is for watching videos. If it’s not 16:9 (or close to it) then what’s the point? I don’t need to multitask on my phone, I’ll switch to a laptop for that - I’ve had phones that do split screen for years and it was a cool gimmick for a while, but I’ve never really made good use of it.
If anyone can tell me of a phone with a big screen and 16:9 aspect ratio then I’d be willing to reconsider…
They’re way too expensive. Moving parts such as the folding screen are just a focal point for stress, which is unacceptable given how expensive they are. I hate hearing that people can get dust in the hinge without anyway to clean it out.
You’re also paying for extra screens such as the one on the outside and the folding inner screen. This is just added unnecessary cost when you’ll never use both at the same time. I’m guessing the outer screens were added to reduce the number of times people unfold the phone over its lifetime, which gets back to my other point that adding moving parts just adds more issues than it solves.
Overall, I see it as a novelty at best. From the prices I’ve seen them sold at for the phones that turn into a tablet like device when unfolded, you can just buy a phone and a tablet separately for less. I think their purpose is to create a product more expensive than what the current flagship phones run, giving rich people something to spend additional money on to to show they have a lot of money and enough novelty for tech reviewers to discuss during reviews.
IMO, I think it’s a pretty dumb concept in the way we’re currently implementing it. If I want a borderline TV to carry around, I’ll buy a tablet. I just want a phone for quick access to my communications mainly; I don’t have vision issues that requires the screen to even be as big as some of the “small” offerings from the larger players in the cellular market. Additionally, to satisfy the quick access, many have multiple screens now, which I think is equally dumb, you’re never going to use both screens at the same time, and most of the time there’s no use-case where both screens would be on. The only viable folding device IMO, is the zFlip, and my pockets aren’t small enough for me to care, or justify the extra cost, and durability concerns.
I recognize it’s an important step in the process to make phones like this to further the foldable screens, so they can be further developed to be more durable, more flexible, and overall better than they currently are, but I, personally, have no need for one, nor desire to own one. The crease isn’t pretty either, but it’s not my chief concern… it’s just way too much for way too little. I haven’t appreciated the direction of phones for a while, or the emphasis on the camera; simply, I want something better, faster, easier to use, and that lasts longer. Not a phablet with less than 18 hours of battery life, and a last-gen mobile radio in it… Samsung did that kind of thing with the Galaxy Note, and I find the folding phones to be an extension of that.
I love technology, I wok in technology and I appreciate it, but I have no desire for this. Give me a 5" screen, with powerful hardware under the hood and a good, latest-gen LTE/5G/whatever radio and WiFi 6e/7/whatever, and a decent battery, and I’m happy. Lately phones are too big for my large hands, and have cut so many corners that anything affordable is slow as all heck. I don’t want to pay multiple thousands of dollars for something that works for me, simply because it has a bunch of fancy camera features I’m never going to care about. Having a camera is good, but 90% of the time I’m taking pictures of racks of equipment, wires, and my cat. I don’t need a 50 megapixel camera with both wide angle and telephoto supplemental cameras and AI enhancements/image processing to capture images of my feline, or my network switch. What I do need is something that I can flip between half a dozen different apps to do my job, with a fast network connection so I can move data around quickly, and a battery that doesn’t need charging multiple times a day so that my phone will stay powered on while I work…
I took the dive, got one and it’s awesome. I browse Lemmy 95% of the time on my outer screen. I went with Motorola Razor+ because I’m not the biggest Samsung fan and I totally impulse bought it. Unless it’s something that demands I open my phone, I don’t really, and that was what got me to get it. Without the outside screen I probably wouldn’t have gotten it, but totally glad I did.
What makes you stay away from Samsung?
I like a less cluttered Android experience and I felt like I was wasting time removing it. That I like collecting fun cellphones.
Generally, I love mine, I like reading the paper on mine. No issues with durability, I take mine downhill mountain biking in the PNW, skiing in Canada, the works. The only issue I have with mine is that the made for foldable apps suck ass and you must avoid them like the plague. Who wants a permanent hamburger menu that takes up half the screen permanently while the other half of the screen (which is smaller than a normal phone) is used to display content, messages, and pictures?
Imagine the ribbon at the top of microsoft word taking up 50% of your monitor, lmao.
The high price also has to go. I’d like to see foldables for $750, though I know that’s a pipe dream.
Smart analogy too; I just can’t see these replacing regular smart phones until the technology makes them sufficiently thin. Because of this I doubt we will see them lower much in price. I would also want an s pen built into the phone.
My clothes have pockets
I like my phones to be lightweight, thin, and durable.
Ya know, so I can have my phone at-the-ready when under a car, upside down trying to fix my sink, or when I only have half a hand while scarfing down some lunch.
Turns out a heavy-ass foldable doesn’t lend itself to doing any of that without risking permanent damage.
So Samsung, when your foldables are less than 200g, less than 72mm wide, fully ip68, and less than $1000 in today’s dollars, I will consider them. Otherwise, I’ve already got a perfect phone.
Z Fold 3 fits in the little phone pockets (thigh welt pockets) on my Kuhl pants. Most notably, the Surface Duo does not.
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Paying more for a less durable device is not what I prefer to do.
My current phone still works.
The price, the line down the middle, the hinge. Generally just not requiring any more screen space
I love my Fold 3. Only real complaints are how many apps are not built to support the front screen’s thinness. It was the most expensive phone I’ve ever purchased even at 50% off used (around $900), but for the amount of hours I use it, it seems justified. For maps, photos, and reading, the inner screens are awesome. I mostly use the outer because most things do not need the full size. Can’t imagine it without the outer screen. Durability not an issue so far, whether that’s waterproofness, sand in the fold, or the crease.
Uhh the price tag? I just bought a new phone after 6 years of honoured service from my old one, payed the new one a whopping 300€ and it already felt like a rip off. Ain’t no way I’m paying four digits for a phone.
I got a new screen for my ol’ trusty Poco F1, from AliExpress, for 20€, and spent an hour to install it.
Why is the question about “stopping me” - there’s nothing here to motivate me to get one, so by default I won’t.
