this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2023
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Foldable devices seem like the 3d TVs of the last couple of years. I will not be getting one any time soon.
After having one, it's really amazing and the form factor and random utility it brings (built in tripod, easy to aim flash light and be hands free). The screens just need work. The crease is a non-issue as far as using the phone, but the little screen protectors that manufacturers say not to take off will deteriorate after like 6 months.
I think it's close though and I do often miss my foldable.
Have had a samsung foldable and in a 2 year time period I've had to replace the factory installed screen protector twice. It started w a little crack that crept upwards until the whole protector was split in half. Ended up just peeling it off after the 2nd replacement started cracking. I imagine ppl don't like the idea of not being able to protect their screens for one of their premium products....
On the flip side I did watch the superbowl from a hotel pool with this phone and it was perfect for that.
and who even wants this? a couple of friends have them, and it seems like nothing more than a weird novelty. in sci-fi, the phone unfolds to become a tablet, not folds in half to become… uselelss while potentially damaging the screen for no good reason.
this is a classic example of one of those technologies that you think would be cool, but once you have it, you’re like, “eh, never mind.” but Samsung went all sunk cost fallacy and doubled-down on it, losing billions. brilliant!
I'd love to have one but they're overpriced.
Same with every flagship, the tech isn't scaring me off just that the price is ridiculous to me. A new phone case, wallpaper and launcher and I'll get another year out of any phone.
from what my friends have told me, that novelty wears off real quick, and is replaced with the concern it will break or wear out— which happens more frequently than manufacturers claim. if not the screen itself, then the hinges, which were a common problem with the old flip-phones, too, back in the day.
I mean, you like what you like. I’m just speaking from a practical standpoint in that any moving parts = a high manufacturing cost and higher rate of defect and breakage. the primary advantage of the “candy bar” form factor is that it reduces/eliminates moving parts and potential points of failure from the physical design.
I admit… I really do miss the idea, even the feel of flipping a phone shut. hell, I even miss slamming a phone down to end a call. angrily jamming my finger into a screen to end a call is REALLY unsatisfying, and often ends in my throwing my phone across the room, and I’ve thankfully developed the habit of throwing it at my couch to save on replacing expensive smartphones, lol. but, until tech evolves tot he point where we get phablets a la Westworld or Legion that can unfold into a super-slim tablet rather than fold down into a flip-phone from the past whose screen could actually just break at any moment because the tech was rushed…. yeah, I’m not interested.
I was going to say I miss slam-shutting my flip phone too but have realized that I only talk on the phone like 3 times a week so I wouldn’t be getting a foldable just for that
I had a Motorola razr in 2021 that was a good phone, the crease never really bothered me but after 6 months of use the touch screen stopped working and then the pixels started going out on it before it stopped working entirely.
I loved the form factor but it’s just not reliable enough. I’d probably only buy another clamshell foldable if apple made it because I trust them not to rush a half baked product to market.
Same here, was on flip phones for the longest time. I loved the compactness. They became scarce some years ago so I started buying smart phones, currently a Samsung. That thing is huge and unwieldy. It does not fit well in a pocket so I don't carry it around. I always have to find someplace to stow it, often in the center console of my car.
A folding smart phone could be a solution, but they're all really expensive. I don't spend a lot on phones and never will. Right now I'm looking to replace my under $300 Samsung with an under $300 Motorola. Functionally my Samsung works well, but I hate all the Samsung bloatware on it. I know Motorola uses a fairly stock Android image and hopefully it will be a bit more compact.
I see why you're saying that but I love my fold and I don't think I could go back to a regular phone anymore, you quickly get used to the screen real estate and its difficult to give it up imo. While the outside screen is too thin on my fold for my fat fingers you get the best of both worlds of a phone and a more portable tablet, I get it if its not your thing but I find it very handy to have that extra work space on my phone.
I'm in the same boat with my foldable. It'd be a handicap now to watch videos on a smaller screen now that I've gotten used to the bigger one. I only use the small screen for phone calls now because it's awkward holding the large screen to your face for that.
Yep, I'm hoping they'll do a slightly wider tri-fold model at some point. I'd like to have a wider front screen, like Galaxy S22 Ultra sized, and then be able to unfold twice to get a ~3x sized tablet-sized screen.
Not that that would help with the already astronomical price-tag of the Z-Fold.
And now TVs fold also 😂
Yeah, so many points of failure and so expensive