- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
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At this point we have practical real world foldable devices. Maybe it is different for other people but I very rarely encounter them in the real world. I cannot help but feel that the feature is essentially a gimmick:
- The fold out screen is a secondary function. The device is invariably expected to be fully usable in folded state. This means that everything has to be usable without this secondary functionality.
- The fold out screen feature is always going to be more expensive, complex, and more prone to failure than a candy bar device with a single screen
The result is going to be that this will be a luxury or novelty feature without a compelling use case that absolutely requires it, perhaps similar to convertible touch screen laptops that can be used as an etsatz tablet.
The tech for having screens that aren’t just flat squares is cool, opening up more possibilities for wrist wear, vr etc, but I don’t know anyone that wants this in a phone - seems like a solution in search of a problem.
Every time I look at the demo devices in a shop like media market or Saturn selling foldables, the screens of most devices are damaged. There are always cracks, discolorations or some kind of screen damage to these devices. If brand new demo pieces can’t last a few weeks, why would I bother to buy one, knowing it won’t last the usual 3 years of smartphone use?
For sure those screens are more brittle, but also I can’t help but think that a lot of people abuse them on purpose, to see how easily they break, thus their condition doesn’t represent real-life wear and tear.
Yeah, my friend l foldable screen broke after like 3 months.
Now I just have a super bulky regular phone
Every electric demo device is usually messed up, to be fair
Foldables are just an expensive compromise between phones and tablets. For the same amount of money you can buy both, a phone and a tablet, which will last a lot longer.
The thing is I don’t want to carry 2 devices around and I can’t fit a tablet into my trouser pockets.
I’d buy a foldable if they weren’t absolute shit in the current state.
It’s not a compromise, the folding things really fall apart and look like shit. I’d love it if they worked but it’s the 3d glassses tv thing except in phones
Budy, all I want is a linux phone without a bunch of proprietary, binary blobs that aren’t supported after 2 years, and a thick, replaceable battery that lasts me 3-5 days on average with daily usage.
With the amount of money they are dumping into these gimmicks, they could instead be significantly changing the market by improving ARM or RISC-V linux and making highly portable computers that fit in your pocket and that you can just plug into a screen where you go. They could merge the mobile gaming market with that of the desktop and console market that way for example. One unified OS with the same APIs and frameworks and whole host of native programming languages.
They could rival laptop manufacturers with their low-power, portable devices. Or even enter the OS market that way by providing a linux distro that they can sell and maintain.
I dunno… just anything but these damn foldables.
You will never get that battery if it makes the device thicker. I was in the industry, we made smartphones with a two day battery. Full on thick, in direct response to customers asking.
None sold. Period. It was something like 8-10mm thicker.
Everyone looked at the one with the thick battery then the thin and bought that.
Motorola makes phones with two day batteries (5000 mAh standard, some going up to 6000 mAh) and their market share is growing, recently reaching third place in the US behind Apple and Samsung. And it’s all in the standard size, forget being 8-10mm thicker, they’re 8-10mm total.
Moto all the way. Cheap and reliable.
wait how is 5000 mAh 2 day battery? what features are the cutting? cuz my OnePlus 9 has a 4500 mAh and that lasts for like 30 hours idle or like 5 hours of use?
Purism made the Librem 5. It’s a chonker and has bad battery life and they only sold a few thousand units. However, if rappers can make dumb phones and sell out 10k units in a few days, I dare say there’s a market for thick phones with good batteries, it’s just that rappers and celebs do better marketing and have a wider audience.
Marketing maketh the product. Absolutely true and a thick one there would sell.
If you put two devices down, one thick and one thin, all other things being equal and without an influencer hawking jt. People take the thin one.
What a poorly written article that weirdly repeats itself I wonder if it was written by an AI.
It’s not Ars original article, but written by Tim Bradshaw from Financial Times and seems to be a real person.
All phones are foldable at least once
At the right price I’d definitely like a foldable. Certainly many people would prefer the smaller form factor at the right price/durability. The durability constraints are largely solved now, so the main concern is pricing.
I watch a lot of video on my phone during breaks at work.
For me, that is the main usage. If I am at home, I’m using my iPad or desktop for everything else I would possibly need that larger foldable screen for.
I’m not against foldables, but price needs to be reasonable, as it solely serves to replace my normal smartphone, and it’s not worth it unless it’s within $100 of the equivalent phone/hardware without the foldable screen.
WHY
I can only imagine them shrugging it off when it breaks saying you’ve folded and unfolded the item too many times. No thanks.
I gotta say, I actually haven’t had any trouble getting my Z Fold 4 repaired/replaced under warranty. And I’ve had to do it twice now.
That’s not the ringing endorsement that you think it is…
Oh, no, I know exactly what I’m saying. Don’t get this thing. But customer service doesn’t blame you when it does break, at least.
Ah ok cool. Good to know
Fuck no.
I love my foldable phone. I’m never going to go back to non-folding phones. The convenience is incredible for reading; websites or books. Also, the dual app capabilities is super useful. I can have onenote open with a website open on the other side so I can take notes, etc.
I was thinking gimmick for a while, but my girlfriend has a ZFold now, and it’s pretty awesome. I think folds are a natural next step. If they are still alive and kicking during my next upgrade I’ll be getting one.
Until we get to the point where I can completely fold my phone into a ring around one of my wrists without it breaking, I don’t see a need for a folding phone. It feels more like a gimmick to sell a device more than a useful feature, to me at least
Phones are too big. I love the idea of clamshell smartphones. But i won’t buy one until it’s much more reliable.
And I want my Nokia 3330 back, yet I have serious doubts I can ever get it and that it would be useful nowadays.
One thing nobody can take away from Nokia 3330 is that it can be used as a weapon.
And hammer, meat tenderizer or brick, in a pinch.
