I feel like its a bad idea for people to buy these. I mean… the screen are weak plastics that can get damaged by a fingernail. Seems like an expensive buy for such a terrible durability. A terrible deal in my opinion.
What even is the use-case for these, anyways?
Everyone I’ve talked to who owned one has complained that the screen either gets a line in it where the fold is or delaminates.
I think it’s a fad that will probably die off soon
Hopefully the materials will improve before then. I think foldable screens are a great idea.
the screen either gets a line in it where the fold is or delaminates.
Delamination is the factory installed screen protector, which can be replaced, not the screen itself.
I have a flip phone for a while now. A black line did form on the crease after ~6 months, but was replaced under warranty. No further problems since. I don’t use a case either and am rather clumsy.
The biggest upside to the design is reclaimed pocket space.
Everyone has accepted carrying a giant slab that takes up one pocket at all times. Manufacturers that attempt to make reasonable sized phones quickly abandon the idea because people don’t purchase them. Everyone says they’d love having a small phone, then buy something else when it’s time to spend money. Flip phones are the closest thing to a compromise we’ll get anymore.
Given that phones are cameras that just so happen to make phone calls and the industry continuously innovate backwards (headphone jack, micro sd expandable storage, removable batteries, physical sim trays, and potentially USB-C if Apple has their way), foldable screens are the first genuine innovation/progression.
Everyone says they’d love having a small phone
Not me. I want a bigger phone!
Oh indeed! Since phones had that shrinkathon, I was asking for more power, more battery, more thickness!
Don’t be so proud when you shave off another 0,3mm, add a 0,3mm more and put a bigger battery in it!
Especially when you have giant hands like me. Small phones are just plain, uncomfortable to use. I like me a wide device I can actually grip and not wrap my entire hand around the thing while I’m using it.
I buy the smallest phone I can find… But they keep getting bigger, there just aren’t smaller options available.
I love the idea of a flip phone, if only for the promise of increased durability, a more protected screen. But so far I think these foldable phones have been generally less durable than more traditional phones. So yeah, I’ll wait until the tech matures.
Around 10 years ago I worked in an electronics store. You know, when actual small smartphones were still a thing (think S4 Mini and stuff like that).
Every day people came looking for a small phone. Always were very interested in the smaller devices. And yet most never bought one, they eventually decided for a larger one. For each new Samsung series during that time, I’d guess it was about ~50% of people interested in the Mini series, but only ~5% of our actual sales were the Minis.It’s crazy and I learned a lot about people and their purchasing behavior back then. People often think they want something and never buy it and vice versa. It’s interesting, from a psychological view. In my current business it’s the same - people keep asking for stuff, and once you offer it, nobody cares about it.
That’s probably why Samsung kept on making these Minis until the S5 despite them not seeling. Customers kept just giving them feedback that didn’t reflect their behavior.
Everyone says they’d love having a small phone, then buy something else when it’s time to spend money.
I own a Palm Phone, a Unihertz Jelly, an iPhone 13 Mini, a Light Phone 2. Although, from that line up only the iPhone 13 Mini is viable. The rest of the phones come with other issues…
I also don’t have heavy phone usage, so battery life isn’t really a problem for me.
I have one of these, and I really love it honestly. I mostly love that it folds so it actually fits in my pocket. I have tiny hands, and tiny emo girl skinny jean pockets, so the super long flat phone is terrible for me and it fits nicely. The folding screen itself is cool too, since I can prop it up or scroll with it at an angle if I want to. I can set it like a little old school makeup compact and have the top part of the screen be YouTube or something. My model has a screen on the cover as well, and that I can use Spotify directly on and skip songs in a Playlist, pause music etc. Which is nice when I’m on my walk outside, as I don’t even need to unlock my phone or open it to navigate.
I put a screen protector on it, the screen protector does wear out eventually but I’m going on two years of use with no issues on the underlying screen, just replaced the peel and stick screen protector once.
That said, I am rethinking my device use and consumption in general. I’ll get another screen protector when I need it, would love to get several more years of use out of it if I can.
My tech-normie co worker has it and loves it, it’s over a year old and the screen is in great shape to even my annoyingly issue-finding-prone eyes
If she can manage that with a slightly older one I can only assume the tech is improving quite rapidly
I feel like its a bad idea for people to buy these. I mean… the screen are weak plastics that can get damaged by a fingernail.
I’ve never had a screen scratch on my flipable from a fingernail. Also, how many people do you see walking around with a blown out cracked glass screen on non-foldables? People are hard on all phones.
Seems like an expensive buy for such a terrible durability. A terrible deal in my opinion.
They’re just not that expensive secondhand which is how I buy them. You can see you can get last year’s flagship model for $200 to $400. If you get the 2023 model its even cheaper at $100-$200.
At this cost who cares if it breaks in two to three years?
What even is the use-case for these, anyways?
They are VERY small compared to normal mobile phones and you can put it in your pocket. I really like that.
My Razr fucks
I got a fold6 from my work. Its nice having the big screen to load desktop sites/play games/do anything that needs seeing. The front screen is handy for doom scrolling, texting, and taking phone calls. It sucks ass being Samsung tho. grapheneOS apparently supports google folds. That might be cool but I haven’t seen it.
My friend has the galaxy fold. He likes it because he has a tablet with him everywhere.
I personally don’t want a tablet with me everywhere so I don’t want them. But that said I’m not at all worried about the screens durability. Foldable phones aren’t new at this point, they’ve worked the kinks out 🥁 Only long long term (10+ years) durability is my concern. I like playing with old devices and I’m sure they won’t age well in that regard.
Have one now, and had one before.
Don’t bother, unless you’re crazy.
I like it because I basically can build a terminal and ssh back home with my bluetooth keyboard in my bag, but otherwise it’s basically useless, except for watching youtube sometimes.
When the trifold come out they might be worth it, that’s a proper tablet really.
edit: Ok, 1 killer use-case: When your eyes start going, they’re a godsend.
I absolutely love my fold 5! I read alot on my phone, and always having what is basically a tablet on you at all times is awesome for that. I do everything on the large screen, other than maybe a quick check of the lockscreen for notifications.
I’ve been using a Flip 4 for the past 2 years now. It’s great having a phone that can easily fit in my pants’ pockets. The fragility thing is overblown IMO. I take it with me on hikes and mountainbike tours. The screen is still pristine. Only the factory-installed screen protector started showing some hairline cracks along the crease a few months ago, so I just replaced it. Not getting a slab phone again if I can help it.
two of my good friends use them… idk if they are totally happy but we’ve been around the block a few times with technology, so idk
My eyesight is bad so a foldable works great for me when someone needs me to review a contract or documentation ASAP and it’s not convenient to open my laptop right then.
I have a Pixel Pro 9 fold and the original Pixel Fold before it. Frankly, for me, it’s like going multi-monitor for the first time. I can’t go back.
It fills all my tablet use cases while also being a tablet that I actually have on me whenever I need it. I’ve had so many tablets over the years, in all manner of sizes. They all collected dust in a matter of a couple weeks because I would always forget them or forget to charge it or it just wasn’t near me when I wanted it.
My biggest use case is remoting into desktops on the go, a boon for WFH though it isn’t perfect because I have yet to find an remote desktop app that fully takes advantage of the split screen functionality.
Though it’s not Samsung with their fancy productivity focused features, I still find having 1 app on each side to be very useful, especially when I’m on a Lemmy posting binge LMAO
I also play !runescape@lemmy.world and !2007scape@lemmy.world from time to time and I love the extra space
Movies and shows are a meh, the aspect ratios are…weird and you don’t gain as much size as you think because of the resulting black bars. But I’ve never been one to watch TV and movies on my phone like that, except on a plane
Frankly, for me, it’s like going multi-monitor for the first time. I can’t go back.
Interesting. Definitely makes me continue to be interested in them. First time I went multi monitors it’s quite freeing. Then when the lockdowns hit I made sure to get a second monitor for work (and play lol).
Only thing ia that the price of foldables is still too expensive for me. And idk if I want to buy used from tech junkies’ not-shiny-anymore when the next shiny comes out.
A lot of people I work with have them and love them, especially the newer Google Folds and Samsung ones. Multitasking is great on it and the quality doesn’t seem bad. These newer flip or fold options have gone a long way in quality over the past few years. If I could afford I would love one but I really don’t value phones that much.
