Being the age I am, I’m just old enough to remember flip-phones.
A relatively simple concept that has been on my mind lately for reasons I’ll get to. Widely considered obsolete unless you just want a cheap phone to make calls etc., these phones featured a screen on one side, a keypad on the other, with a hinge joint between the two.
The reason that this device has been dragged back to the front of my brain in recent weeks is because I am reminded of them every time I see this:
To be clear: I’m aware that this foldable iphone is not the first foldable modern smartphone (I know Samsung released them years ago also).
But I’m also left wondering: what is the point? I think I can perfectly understand the use of flip phones as they were when they were popular, but foldable phones I just can’t see the benefit. As far as I can see, these foldable type of phones offer little to no benefit that you couldn’t get from, say a regular iPhone or Samsung phone, in terms of the consumer and how they are used in general life. I get that the hardware/software may be different, but that’s not going to be a factor in most people’s daily lives (you’re not going to care about the type of core, or the screen resolution when you make a phone call, etc.) It seems like it’s more of a gimmick from the companies making them to try and make more sales, but even if that’s the case, the product must have something unique to offer, so what is it about foldable phones that are so unique besides the gimmick of folding?
As the owner of a fold6 I can tell you that one of the reasons I got it is that it could replace the occasional tablet use when you need more space eg maps and pictures.
In that, it succeeded quite well. However, everything is now optimized toward the standard phone format so it’s nice but not really that important.
Would I buy a phone with a foldable display again? No, because after 22 months with like 1 fold a day the protection already comes off (replacing it is only 20€ if paid but I have to go on a field trip to get it made) and the price for the device is just not worth it.
So next time standard format again.
That is definitely not normal, I had my z fold 5 for 2 years and I would say I’m a power user, unfolding it at least 10 or 20 times at minimum per day, and nothing on the phone wore out
They’re referring to the screen protector in the middle. And while I think theirs just wasn’t applied well, they have a point. The inner screen protector for mine just started losing adhesion in the crease a week ago. Not worth the effort or cost to fix imho since I have to focus to see it with the screen turned on, but I can see how others find that annoying