So, what's stopping you from getting a foldable? [Poll]
![So, what's stopping you from getting a foldable? [Poll]](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/97a82815-a73b-4987-9573-00292f4fdb72.jpeg?format=jpg&thumbnail=256)
9to5google.com
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.
The phrase "what's stopping you" implies we're all interested, but hesitant.
This is a really, really bad assumption.
It also assumes there's anything stopping us. I'm annoyed they didn't have a "nothing" option on the poll. I've been loving my Flip 4 and hope they keep making options like it when I eventually wear it down.
Why are you not interested? I personally like the idea of either having a normal size phone that gets larger or a normal size phone that gets smaller. Are you saying you sre not interested in foldable phones at all?
Disinterest is the default position until something sparks interest. Asking why I'm not interested is, with respect, a nonsense question that can only have one answer: because I haven't seen anything about it that sparks my interest. "It folds" is not enough to make me feel any desire to own one; I don't care that it folds. I don't need it to fold. To me, this is like installing a microwave in my vacuum cleaner. Like, sure, now my vacuum cleaner objectively does more stuff and "is better," but that's not exactly a feature I'm looking for in a vacuum cleaner, and size-changing is not a feature I'm looking for in a phone.
If you want one, you should get one. I'm glad the option exists so that people for whom "it folds" is enough to spark interest can be happy and have neat toys.
I respect your opinion although I cant see why you think foldable phones dont make the phone "better".
Foldable just means more things to break. How is that better?
Foldables have the potential to make phones better for some people. But better is always subjective. And in my opinion the current faults with foldables means they aren't ready for me to use yet.
So the response to "what's stopping you from getting a foldable" is: the currents faults in foldable. See? Its not too hard.
The trade off of a phone being half as tall is it’s twice as thick.
I’m a man and pockets for men usually aren’t super short so the phone being tall isn’t an issue. And I definitely don’t want the phone to be twice as thick. Women’s clothes with their awfully small pockets I could understand. But I’m a big MFer so pocket size isn’t a problem.
My current phone still works.
Pretty much this. And they are still too expensive.
Price. It's just too high to consider for me right now when I can get phones with the same computing power for half the cost
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.
Price, durability, use case...
There's nothing about them that makes them worth sacrificing the first two above.
-Not durable (If you can damage the screen with your fingernail it's not durable enough. Period.) -No headphone jack
Everything this guy said, and is like to add 'any desire to own a gimmick phone'
The price, the line down the middle, the hinge. Generally just not requiring any more screen space
Cost
durability
Size
difficult to repair (if not impossible)
lack of sdcard (on such a large body)
No open source ROMS
I don't mind spending on good tools, but I won't buy a highly locked down device at any cost. An open source OS is a must, any new device will have to compete with my current phone that also has an SD card, headphone jack and is easy enough to open so that I can change the battery myself. Folding phones are inferior in all those aspects.
Why do you need SD cards in 2023? Most phones don't have this?
To double or more the storage for much cheaper than the internal storage upgrades cost... is that not enough? Even the folds don't have more than 512gb and they cost over $1000. My sub $500 phone from years ago is running a 512gb SD card, which I can seamlessly slot into my next phone when I swap.
Sure, but why do you need Storage in the first place? I have always had less than 100gb and it's plenty for all apps etc. Everything else goes in the cloud
Just because it works for you means it should work for me? I want more storage than you need.
For one thing- if you take lots of photos and videos.
Sure, let me pay the same I did for the SD card for half as much storage that will expire in a year ($40 for 200GB in GDrive). It'll be super handy when I am on 250MB of cell data or have no reception at all and want to listen to my music in the cloud.
Why need storage at all?
Have the thing connect to the Internet to do even basic tasks like answering the phone.
A mainframe of sorts.
To carry the backup data to another phone If it fails.
To have my high quality music and movies with me, at all times.
I mean they cost at least a grand.
Yeah, the reason I won't buy one is because they cost the price of 3 phones
Price
They don't have the actual answer in their poll for me which is, you pay 1800 for the z fold but get the camera of the s23 basic model. Which is wild.
Give me the ultra cameras and I'll buy it
Yeah, the price is definitely the big issue with those for me. I love the form factor (especially the ones that look like the flip phones of old), but I'm not paying triple what a regular phone with similar specs would be just for that.
Exactly this. I actually loved using the ZFold 4 when I tried it out, but losing the quality of the main cam and 10x zoom was a huge bummer for the price I was paying.
The Galaxy Note series used to have the absolute best cameras that would eventually come to the S line. If you're going to charge a premium for a phone it needs to be the best.
Why? Are you in professional photography? All cameras after like 2020 are so good it hardly matters.
Source:I have a fold4
I use the 10x zoom frequently
I don't pay more than £400 for a phone. So that.
I'll break it
I dont need what a foldable offers
I don't want one. It's a cool technological feat, but like a transparent monitor or flexible keyboard, it just doesn't make sense for my needs.
My current phone still works, too expensive, durability concerns (my current phone would not be working were it a foldable), center crease, looks like a pain to repair (right to repair hell yeah!), and most importantly...
...why? What do I gain by going with a foldable? My current phone doesn't need to fold to fit in my pocket, and it doesn't have so many compromises.
My ex has one. She used it half folded to prop it up to take pictures. That's come in handy quite a bit actually. Also I like that you can close the phone to hang up calls. Sometimes I have to navigate back to the call app to hang up and it just feels ridiculous how hanging up is a multi step process if the call app isn't open. Lastly, pocket space, I prefer the folded phone than a full sized.
I likely won't get one for the same reason as you.
That issue can be solved with a case or even an accessory for propping up the phone. All the downgrades just don't sell the phones.
I think the Pixel Fold can run GrapheneOS, support might still be experimental though
I see them as every way inferior to normal phones. I don't get why they're popular.
As long as there's a noticable crease in the screen, I'm out. They also need to last more than two years.
Stresses me out each time I open and close my phone thinking the life span of the display is shortened by 1
I don’t see the point of it. It might be smaller in height when folded, but it’s twice as thick. That doesn’t make it any easier to pocket.
It also seems unnecessarily over complicated. The folding screen technology also doesn’t seem mature (high crease failure). I would think at least one or two phone companies would design them so they just met at a bezel-less seam rather than trying to actually fold an oled/lcd screen.
Too fragile. Too expensive.
I simply don't like them. There's zero use case where I would consider a foldable phone superior, or even equivalent to a regular one.
Video calling is pretty neat when you fold it and let it sit on a table etc, but might as well use a laptop...
I want my phone to last more than 2 years
It all comes down to the gimmick not being worth an additional thousand euros to the price of my phone.
I don't think durability would be a problem for me as I already baby my glass back device and I haven't been using screen protectors for years with no problem. The downgrade in cameras isn't that big of a deal for me as most pictures I take are macro, and as it turns out phones nowadays are horrendous dogshit at it anyway.
I think I'd enjoy the gimmick, I used to own a flip phone as a teenager, it's just not worth a thousand euros extra. I'd probably add another 150 or 200 euros to my pixel to buy a folding phone.
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.
Why would I care if my phone folds. Id rather have no crease in my screen. But I don't drop my phones often, is that the point of it folding? Cause it getting wider and shorter doesn't necessarily make it more convenient
For me, they're too fat when folded and too big when open. I don't like the feeling of the crease, and the technology needs time to prove how reliable it'll be in the real world.
Price and durability concerns
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.
doesn't provide a benefit for me for the tradeoffs in smaller battery size, screen size, lower water resistence, lower durability, no open source documentation/parts to enable comsumer repairability
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.
price and reliability
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...
Lack of interest in the form factor. Too thick when folded. Folds are too large for one hand when open. Cost is high for the chip sets and memory.
It's way too expensive for what I want.
I actually just want a very small but very functional smartphone since I currently don't have a phone at all.
I just use my Tab S7+5G as a phone, been doing that since the S6. I've just recently ran into some issues where I might need a smaller device, e.g. to use some store app QR codes or similar stuff where you'd have to present your phone. Well... I can actually do that just fine, but pulling out a 12inch tablet makes you look like a dork.
To be honest, I'd wish someone made a non-folding phone with a the height of a folded folding phone lmao
https://palm.com/products/palm-unlocked
I used it while traveling for a while and it worked great if you're ok with how small it is. Very tiny, like forget its there tiny. I'd still probably use it from time to time if I hadn't smashed it on account of it be so tiny. I was also doing hard manual labor whole traveling so that didn't help with the smashing.
I really just cant stand the weird plastic-looking screens they all have on the inside.
Also yeah being anywhere from double to triple the price for something that I think looks objectively worse than a regular glass phone screen is just... not gonna happen.
To contrast some of the comments here from people who've clearly never used one of these foldables outside of a display case, I've had my Fold 3 (the larger folding tablet style) for two years. I came from the Note and S lines, Windows Phone, and have bounced between iPhones. My Fold 3 is in great shape and has survived many falls. It's definitely durable enough for me. I take care of it, but I get that some people don't desire to take care of their devices and expect them to be exceedingly durable. Never had anything under the screen. Never take it to the beach unless it's in a sealed ziplock. I take care not to put it in dusty environments or let sawdust or shavings get into it (hobbies).
Unfolded, it's better than any other phone out there. Viewing videos enlarged or widescreen is great depending on video and application. During normal usage, the crease is not noticable enough to be a distraction unless viewed from a severe angle (think the person sitting next to you). Unfolded scrolling of Lemmy, the internet, and reading is a better experience than anything else out there - bar none, no argument. The screen is just huge and viewing websites in mobile or desktop is fantastic. It makes the web actually useable from a mobile device. I never use my Galaxy Tab anymore. Samsung does a pretty good job software-wise adapting apps to fit the foldable aspect ratio if a guveb app doesn't officially support it. More apps are supporting foldables every day.
I would agree with the sentiment that the Z Flip line likely has a more gimmicky purpose. At least the Fold line functions as a tablet and is a decent phone folded up. At least, that is my experience with a Z Flip 3 before swapping for a Fold 3. But I'll be buying foldables exclusively from here on out. After using the Fold 3 for two years, I can say it's folding screen is definitely NOT a gimmick.
The question wether flips/folds are gimmicky or useful is a very personal one: I.e. for me the foldables seem excessive and flip phones finaly a way to get smaller phones.
Money
The crease is still far too noticable for me. That and the outrageous price that some of these things close when they eventually make it to the shelves with the "Australia tax" applied to it.
Nothing is. I'm currently writing this post on one. I will consider that weight is a big issue, one I wish was spoken of more than the plethora of reporters and journalists upset that Instagram, famously known for not having an iPad app, also doesn't have foldable support. I really like my Pixel Fold regardless.
The main thing stopping me is that I don’t use Android phones right now. But even if I did, I personally find the whole foldable phone thing to be a bit gimmicky. I’d want to see it have staying power over some years before I’d even consider getting one.
As someone who just got the pixel fold, it is pointless.
Price and durability. I'm not going to pay exorbitant prices for something I'll have to replace in 2 years
Cost and durability
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.
Still rocking the f1?! Wow you're an OG, I went with the f3, from the f1 2 years ago. After 3 screen replacements I thought It was time
I don't see myself folding a foldable. Why would I want that?
I don't like them (as they're now). Price.
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.
Bulky, expensive, unneeded
Aside from price, the fact that they are twice as thicker as a regular phone make them pointless for me. When we have the technology to make them 8-12mm thickness I might be interested.
Until they make the protective screen durable up to lvl 5 scratches without dmg, ip 68 protection, flat front side without slightly risen bezels so I can comfortably use gestures, even the battery size and camera capabilities with normal flagships and the price of course, it's a nono for me. 🤔 Otherwise overpriced gimmick..
I'm not paying a thousand plus dollars for a phone. I go through a phone every year and a half to two years. I don't want to spend $1,000 a year for a phone.
I don't want to have a never-ending phone payment. I buy inexpensive but good quality phones like Motorola's or second-hand pixels and I'm good.
I spend 160 something dollars a year on average on phones, and use the least expensive prepaid plans out there.
And this is not because I am poor, there's room in the budget for me to have the fancy iPhone and you know the top of the line plan or whatever, I just got better things to spend my money on than a fucking phone.
If a company comes out with a folding phone that doesn't have a lot of bloatware on it and is in the $200 range then the next time I buy a new phone I would consider it.
Yeah I'm shocked to see price ranking so low on their poll. I'm rocking a $200 phone and there's nothing that I need to do but can't. The form factor is nice but it's not an extra $800+ nice.
Exclusively price. I want a Fold very bad but, too much $
Nothing at all, I've had two of them =]
Woah, which; and why so many
Started with the Surface Duo 2, if you count it, and now I'm using the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
I suppose I could also count the LG G8x too, possibly?
So many because my company buys phones for me every couple years and I like the flexibility of the folding screen. I'm convinced that anyone who says they don't want one just hasn't used one yet. It makes such a huge difference to my mobile experience honestly. Games, documents, multitasking, web browsing, media consumption... It's all so much better on a device that folds in half lol.
I've avoided the like the plague for all the obvious reasons, my mum has been using one for a few years now and ran into just about all of those reasons.
Permanant mid fold in screen.
Durability lasts far fewer actions than what was in the specs and warranty.
Refurbishing only introduced new issues and failed to resolve old issues.
First, the price point is stupid
Second, I don't trust a folding monitor to last
Third, every other time I've gone to a platform that's different from what 99% of apps are written for, I've felt frustrated because the apps didn't take advantage of that and here I was with support for that but no benefit to me.
The purpose of folding a phone is carrying it in a more pocketable form.
I don't need that because I'm a man always with regular pockets which are fine for carrying a Pixel 6 Pro screen.
If I wanted a bigger screen, I would also want a keyboard and a mouse. So you could say that I'm freaking hyped for the upcoming DEX-like desktop mode coming to AOSP. Video-out on a Pixel, fucking finally.
Since getting a wearable display, screens are no longer a priority.
Like a smartwatch? I'd love the z fold for notes and such as well as games and video but I have reservations over durability and price.
Nah. A sunglasses form-factor, head-mounted display. Only 1080p per eye but does the trick. It's been a game changer for how I prefer to interact with devices. My current phone doesn't support DisplayPort AltMode, unfortunately, but that is going to be a priority for me on the next one.
Which glasses?
The ones that I've been using are the Xreal (formerly known as Nreal) Air. Not bad price, compared to a good monitor and none of the creepy cameras.
I prefer the standard chocolate bar style it's less likely to break and it fits fine in my hand
The fact the most of them are made by Samsung and I can’t stand the amount of bloatware Samsung put on their devices.
Too expensive.
It's also inconvenient. Having to unfold the phone before using is cumbersome and it doesn't fit well in my pockets.
I want a screen protector
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.
I don't see a point.
Paying more for a less durable device is not what I prefer to do.
I have a foldable and I hate my foldable. I am literally counting down the days until I can get rid of it.
In the beginning, it was fine but I didn't use the tablet mode as much as I thought I would. It was mostly just videos and manga. Then the hinge started to get dust or debris under it and wouldn't open all the way. This has slowly gotten worse and worse and I don't even want to open it even if I have a good use case now.
The outer screen is too thin but it does make it easy to hold and type one-handed at least.
The device is also bulky obviously which is fine but with a case, it's about an inch thick which is a bit unwieldy.
The battery life is awful, even without using the main screen. I usually have to charge once a day and overnight.
I just miss my Note. Nice big wide screen, comfortable to hold. Massive battery. Nice stylus. :(
What kind of phone did you get? I have a pixel fold and even though I rarely use the inner screen I don't have any of the problems you mentioned.
It's the Fold 3. I've had it about a year and a half I think.
I was wanting to get a larger foldable but didn't because I didn't want the size. I already own a tablet and the more I thought about it seemed pointless.
Maybe battery life, and I don't want to give up my headphone jack and memory card slot. :(
Cost isn't a real concern for me; Samsung has very aggressieve discount pricing where I am, I could get a Z Fold 4 with the same RAM/memory for about 10% more than the S23 Ultra, so I effectively see it as a freebie small tablet with an expensive phone.
Once your try wireless earbuds you will not go back, Apple was right on this one
I actually used to have one, but even though I was very careful with it, the screen kept breaking from normal everyday use. Eventually, my phone insurance decided they'd no longer cover this type of phone due to it being too fragile, so I went back to using a regular phone.
Well I have one already, I don't need another one
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.
I typically buy last generation refurbished. I was able to get the Samsung Galaxy s22 Ultra for sub $800. The last generation Fold is still over $1000. I need the cool-factor to calm down so the old ones are cheaper.
I hated the idea until I bought a Fold4. I'm always careful with my electronics, even so, I've dropped it several times on accident and had zero issues. I can't imagine going back to a slab phone, the flexibility of the extra screen real estate is something I use so often that it really would be a significant disruption to my everyday to go back to a slab.
Reliability is a reasonable concern, but the benefits far outweigh the potential risks for me. If you're breaking phones all the time, they probably aren't a good fit for you. I don't bring my phone to beach so maybe I'm more careful than the average user - regardless, I guess that's why I have a smartwatch.
Owned one, went back to pixel 7 pro afterwards. I liked it a lot and really loved the screen size.
But the screen is really, really fragile and the phone is heavy enough that it's hard to hold when You're surfing for more than an hour.
So I could surf on my phone less... Or I could grab a phone that isn't 450g
I'm still not sold on the durability and the last thing I want is the screen to become a wear item. Even with most of them pretty much all switching from plastic to ultra thin glass, bending glass like that is asking for it to eventually break and replacement internal screens aren't cheap.
Secondly, a lot of foldables sacrifice battery capacity as the Flip 5 has a 3700 MAh battery and the Fold 5 has a 4400 MAh and powering a 2nd, larger screen is going to consume more battery. A normal smartphone you can typically find with at least 5000 MAh batteries in them.
The tech is cool and all, but it just seems more like an engineering flex rather than something that's practical.
The fact that there will always be a seam in the folding screen. If I feel it while swiping over it or there's weird glare because the surface is uneven that would drive me bananas
Im not gonna buy a phone that's worth several months of salary in my country only to get mugged the moment I pull it out
I've had my Galaxy zflip 3 for about 2 years now. Lots of comments here are saying they are too fragile or poorly made but that has not been my experience:
The new flip 5 looks really nice with the bigger cover screen but I don't plan to upgrade anytime soon since this phone is working well for me.
I mean they cost at least a grand.
Simple: price. I think that is true for the majority of users. When there's a $200 foldable out there, people will try it just to see what the fuss is about. But that's not even on the horizon.
For me personally, they need to come wayyyy down. Like 1/3 of the current price. That would put them in competition with budget flagships like the Pixel 7.
Mix of cost and it doesn't actually benefit me at all. I buy a cheap phone and it does everything it needs to, i don't need to add a 0 to the cost to get no actual benefit for me.
Probably makes more sense for people that actually use their phones for work or something.
My Fold 2 held up 2.5 years but the screen is starting to develop cracks at the hinge.
Still works, but I can see the cracks growing weekly, only a matter of time until they're too visible.
Replacing the screen is just too expensive, together with a new battery I'd look at the price of a new decent normal phone.
The huge screen is nice every once in a while, but I don't do enough with my phone to justify the price.
Was a neat experience of the "future", but the next phone is going to be a normal smartphone. Better battery life, will do the job just fine, lasts longer and cheaper.
No hard feeling towards foldables either, I knew they were expensive.
Also no surprise that folding something 10.000 times (conservative 10x a day for 1000 days) isn't going to last forever.
Maybe they'll find some magical solution for that, but I don't think they will anytime soon.
Of course durability is the main issue here but now that you have mentioned it the water resistance too.
I love my fold 4, and as long as I can afford them, will never go back to a normal phone. I believe in holding onto phones as long as possible, and won't be getting a fold5 or fold6 if my screen holds out becsuse that's just silly. This one works.
I mmade the jump based on the following argument: People agree to pay $1200 for an XL model phone every year but why. 6.X inches has been the standard since like...the pixel 2. 5 years now? People keep buying phones every year for what? There was nothing new. It's marginally, unnoticeablely faster. The screen wasnt getting bigger. The pixel 3xl was just a pixel 2xl but newer. (I bought my 3xl when 5s had been announced so I wasn't paying full retail) There was no reason to buy new phones every year and stay paying money to my telecom. The features just did not add up year over year and felt stagnant. I bought a pixel3 only because the pixel2 battery started inflating.
If you own a budget model phone, a flagship is worth that cost. If you hang onto your phone for 3+ years, a new flagship is worth the cost. But if you have a flagship, made last year, why would you sign a lease every year, what does perpetually paying $50 a month actually do for you? Phones are stagnant. You're just paying to not have an old phone, or you're paying because you want the ego of having a new phone. (No judgement just how people are, being the first person with a noticably new phone and getting complements feels good, I would know lol)
So I said fuck it and got a Fold2 right as price dropped, when fold3s dropped. I signed for 900, and had it a year. People complain about size, the crease, the weight. But ultimately these are petty whines. You stop noticing it. Hold your iPhone Max. Hold your Galaxy Ultra. Now go pick up a tiny flip phone from 2005. Go pick up an iPhone 4, or a galaxy 4. Your phone now is huge and heavy. You didn't notice it because you got used to it. Folds are the same way. I traded my fold 2 for a fold 4 because burgundy and camera bump was much better. Cases for the fold2 were hard to find and fold4 came with one. Otherwise I would still have the fold2.
Fragility. Treat your $2000 phone with respect. Based on some peoples screens you'd swear they use it as a fucking hammer in their spare time. I understand here is where people have issues. The plastic screen is a dealbreaker I get it. If you drop it, caseless, onto concrete yes you do run the risk of breaking it. People wanting a more durable screen is fair. Hard agree. Samsung is the leader in this field and noone is challenging it yet, so they're slacking. I pay $8 a month for asurion insurance through my provider. For $150 if I total the screen I get a new phone no questions asked. I really can't ask for a better deal than that. If you're on the fence, and the fragile screen scares you, get insurance. I don't blame people too much for being afraid of breaking it, but there's options now, where there wasn't with the fold 1 and 2.
And no, I'm not a samsung mouthpiece. The repairability on folds is fucking ass. If you dont have insurance, the big screen is like $700. On top of that, battery replacements are total wash because Samsung doesn't believe in pulltabs. If fragility is your issue, I get it. Anything else? Nah you will be ok you just gotta get used to it.
The flips smaller size is awesome, but I think that positive is offset by the annoyance of having to open the phone the every time.
The fold I could see myself buying in a later gen. Once the hinge and screen are through a few more iterations I think I'll buy one. The huge screen is just so nice. But folded up it shouldn't be much heavier, larger, thicker than a normal phone, I already think modern phones are way too big as it is.
That's kind of the magic of the flip, it forces you to purposefully decide to open your phone, so for some folks thats a benefit! Being more present in everyday life is something I was focusing on when I was considering the flip for my next phone. I ended up with a fold for other reasons, but that was one of the best benefits I was considering.
That's where I think the larger ext. displays on this years flipables could help a lot...
Why the fuck would I want mechanical stress?
Price, that's it.
Love flip phones, love small phones, 'ate expensive phones
Huh... the folding. I'm already mad that I can't get a solid 5 years out of a $1200 phone, there's no way I'm shelling out for a first wave foldy.
We're already in the 5th generation for Samsung, far from the first wave!
I do like the idea of them, same size phone takes up half the space in a pocket etc. But my current phone (that I've had since 2017) still works mostly fine.
I do think they've missed a trick by going all in on the foldable plastic display rather than two bezelless screens that folded out to look like one screen. I'm not phone designer but I think it might be more durable to not have the actual screen bending.
You're just never going to get that to align perfectly and you'll still have the folding plastic, so you'll still have the seam
If you think there’d be folded plastic in the design I’m talking about then you must be misunderstanding me.
Well good luck getting a smooth and/or sealed seam then
I can see getting a Pixel Fold 3 Pro or something like that when it comes out in a few years. That is if Google doesn't lose interest in the product line in the meantime...
I have been using my Pixel 7 Pro for almost a year and it's still perfect so I am not in need of a new device. But I certainly like the pocketable tablet form factor of Fold devices and may very well get one of those next.
My phone hasn't died yet, so I can't justify buying a new one.
I'm also afraid if my phone is too good, I'll stop using my computer as much where I'm more productive
Edit: wow, looking at the poll results, this is definitely a minority opinion. Most people are about price/durability
I totally get you on that second point, though I feel different on it. I feel regardless of phone type I would use it the same amount but I would like to have a Z fold when they're better to merge tablet and phone into one. I'm absolutely one for durability though.
I tried a Flip 4 but it had way too many compromises for my taste relative to a regular samsung phone in the same price range, I was also concerned about it's durability as I tend to keep my phones for about 3 years.
Maturity, I would consider the Pixel Fold 2
My current phone is going strong still and I dont spend more than 200$ on a phone period. Im pretty sure most foldable phones are still 500$+. Besides I like that my phone has a protective case in case of dropping and half of it is both scratch and impact resistant. With these folding phones they seem very fragile and scratch prone. I heard the glass over time gets creases but that was a while ago and they may have improved on that front.I had my fun with flip phones in the 2000s with tracphone, not really a new gimmick for me.
Honestly, I just don't find them very appealing, one of my coworkers has one and having the thing unfold into a shape more like a small tablet just looks like it'd make it harder to use one handed, and having a weird seam in the middle looks distracting. They look kinda cool and novel because I'm not used to seeing screens fold like that, but I don't see myself actually preferring one once the novelty ran out.
I'm a fan of small phones and as such been waiting for the fold-tech to lead to smaller devices.
Therefore the Razr+ (40 Ultra) and the Flip5 are the first phones to raise my interest since I got my Pixel 5.
I really like the way Moto implemented the external Display but the Flip seems to win in almost any other category.
After reading/watching a lot of reviews I came to the conclusion that (for now) I'll still be better off with a Galaxy S23. Maybe next year...
Any next phone I will buy will have to last me more than 5 years minimum. So far the only phone that I can safely assume to do so is whatever the latest Fairphone will be when my pixel 6 dies.
This phone as aged like milk.
My previous one, the OnePlus 5T did last me 5 years. And I want to repeat that.
A foldable won't even last me half a year if I'm not careful about debris on the screen every single time I fold it.
Durability is a big concern for me as well. I bought a Pixel 2 at launch and had it until June of this year, almost 6 years. It was still in decent shape, but the battery had become unreliable and the cost of paying someone to replace it and fix the cracked screen was almost as much as a new in box Pixel 5. Hopefully my Pixel 5 will also last me a similarly long time.
What kind of problems have you had with your 6?
Reception is awful. It is rare that I actually have a stable connection if I don't have WiFi. I used my OP5t to check if it really is a device issue and yeah it is. This is only slightly better of I leave 5G on, which is an absolute battery killer.
The battery already barely lasts me a day. If I wake up really early for my standards, let's say 6am, and I have to commute even just 30 minutes and I spend that time on my phone? Yeah I will have to charge again at like 3pm latest.
The finger scanner is so unreliable that I stopped using it at all. It kept locking my banking app, it never works on login, and even when it does work it never does so on the first try.
The camera produces over sharpened garbage. I have never seen images this heavily processed. I luckily found open camera as a replacement but it's very outdated and not great to use. One upside of it is that instead of having the blue app icon break the material 3 theme on my home screen, I can hide it in the quick tiles...
Grease
I've had the Fold 2 for about 3 years now and it works like a charm. No issues with battery or folding issues. I would never go back to a non-folding phone.
How has it been for durability, crease lines etc
My brother's z flip breaking put me right off, even though I'd love the screen size of the fold for notetaking.
It's a bit of a stupid gimmick all things considered.
That I haven't seen a review for one where it doesn't snap in half after a couple weeks. Until I stop seeing those reviews, I don't see the point.