How does everyone here feel about foldable phones?

Previously on Lemmy:

Past Discussions:

Well, as promised, we are talking foldable this week. The excitement is palpable, and it looks like the rest of our mod team have already started the conversation here. Go check it out.

I honestly don’t know very much about foldable phones, so I’ll let the rest of our (very smart and knowledgeable) mod team handle this one this week. :)

Last thing for future reference at the end of the week, we also have a great thread discussing foldables here too, go check it out if you want more great discussions.

Ninja9p5,

Love my Fold 4

Amazed,

Was this sent from your Fold 4?

pewgar_seemsimandroid,

no calyx no use

Kevnyon,
@Kevnyon@lemmy.world avatar

I might buy a flip foldable in the future (so either the Samsung flip or the Motorola RAZR) because I like the idea of using my phone less if I can do at least some things on the outside screen + I like the idea of propping the phone up on itself for videos and photos. I really don’t need a book type foldable, but the clamshell just has something to it… In the future.

szczuroarturo,

Honestly im considering buying one Just for the gimkick factor alone. I do like phones that have some gimmick. About the actual usefulness of said gimmick. Well i bought note once for the gimmick alone. Have i ever used the pencil. Only for solving nonograms. Nothing more. Folding phones gimmick on the other hand seems to be way better than the note gimkick, particualry the fold series, flips are questionable alghtough arguably they Look more cool. But the durability of both seems sketchy at Best, especialy since my notę 4 is still used in my family by my grandma and it still feels snapy to use.

So would i buy one. Not really. The thing with my old note 4 was that i managed to buy it used for a very reasonable price and im not sure i would touch used folding phone with a 3 feet pole, and a full priced 1000$ phones are a scam as far as i am concerned. If you want fun gimmick i Would honestly recomend rog phone 6 instead ( cool, should be reasonably priced, fun aestethic ) or a hopefully soon to be fairphone 5 (i never thought i would call removable battery a gimmick but here we are in 2023) . But If you swim in money by any means buy a flip or fold,why not.

st33fo,
@st33fo@lemmy.world avatar

I want to try a flip style foldable. Maybe moto or Samsung’s (good moto trade in when🙃). It’s been a while since I’ve seen a phone and go damn, that’s eye candy. There’ll probably be funky quirks no doubt, but a modern flip phone just looks awesome.

root,

Personally I find the current range of phone options simply too huge. Having owned a Sony Z3 Compact followed by the XZ1 Compact, I didn’t have many choices. I ended up with the Asus Zenfone 8.

I really like the formfactor of the Oppo find N where in it’s folded form it’s a really usable size and I can unfold it if I need a bigger screen. I don’t mind the Samsung Flips or the Motorola Razrs but I think the outside screen can be bigger. There’s a market for the Samsung Folds but it’s not for me.

Tl;dr - my idea of a foldable should be a good sized phone which folds down to something very compact and pocketable.

UsernameLost,

Don’t really see the appeal tbh. More fragile, more expensive, and for what? A bigger phone? I have big hands, and my Pixel 4a is about the max size that’s practical for me to use one handed.

I hopped off the “upgrade to a new phone every year or two” train about 6 years ago in favor of buying a cheaper phone outright and going prepaid. I don’t see any need to drop $1k+ on a phone, especially for what I view as a gimmick

Llamajockey,

Had the Razr 5g, got it new for $600 through a T-Mobile offer. Loved the OS, very similar to pixels. Loved how small it was in my pocket. It became super easy to use daily but… On month 9 a line appeared on my display, that night my phones battery died and upon reboot whole inside screen was messed up. The phone other wise looks pristine, and I have a case that protects it. I never dropped it either. Their one year warranty conveniently does not cover the screen and repair was $950 through Motorola. After arguing the did issue a discount and the phone would cost $750 to repair…when you could get a brand new one on their site for $600 at the time. Ridiculous.

Never buying Motorola again. Might try the Samsung flip in a few years once the tech is solid and affordable.

phamanhvu01,

I’ll be furious if that happens to my phone someday. F

Buffalox,

Their one year warranty conveniently does not cover the screen

If you are in the EU, that’s illegal.

Llamajockey,

Adding that to my reasons to move list.

electrogamerman,

I think they are the obvious next step for mobile phones. But we are not there yet, where I would pull the trigger and buy one for me. I think they are too flimsy right now

Mojojojo1993,

Why would they be next steps ?

electrogamerman,

I think the trend is getting bigger screens but then having a big ass phone is annoying, so imo foldable phones is the obvious next step

Mojojojo1993,

Why would bigger hardware be the next step. Isn’t that kinda dumb ?

Next step are wearables.

Next logical step is a bigger viewing platform. Screens are dumb, but we need to see information, so really smart glasses or projectiors should be next step

electrogamerman,

I agree with you. Maybe I meant the next doable step. I think we are too far from smart glasses that can replace phones. Specially at low cost

Mojojojo1993,

I disagree. 350 xreal are pretty good.

It’s just mirroring your screen. Yeah it’s not going to be as good as native and nothing compared to apple. It’s the next steps which I think should be modular.

Wearables.

Glasses, hearable. Which is just a hearing aid but better and smart watch wrist band. With the phone tying everything together.

Obviously will near near perfect latency and much more powerful batteries. Plus some kind of wireless charging for all devices.

Screen should obviously be on glasses. Just makes sense. Only need a viewing platform don’t need anything else from it. Leave grunt in phone or computer box. It streams to watch glasses wrists and hearable.

Wrist can show small information, maybe reply to easy message and give notifications. Hearable is music and audio playback. And anything you need to view is from glasses

electrogamerman,

I wouldn’t change a phone for glasses, but maybe I am a minority

Mojojojo1993,

Why ? Is not really the phone change though. It’s just the way you view content. From laptops to phones to whatever is next. We view data so going straight to eyes would cut out middle man

electrogamerman,

I dont look good in glasses

Mojojojo1993,

Fair enough. Good point.

Maybe they will get significantly better.

Malisu19997,

As someone who Had a Nintendo DS and 3DS it certainly seems like a cool idea but they also had the problem of the hinges breaking rendering them useless, this is much worse on the folding phones where the display itself bends in half and can literally wear out just from opening and closing, rendering the phone next to useless, the DS handheld gaming systems didn’t even have that problem.

For that reason I really don’t like them and can’t really get behind them. I prefer my devices to last to obsolescence (a ripe old age) and be durable, folding screen phones are not that whatsoever. If I wanted a bigger screen I’d rather just have a bigger phone honestly, or be able to dock it in a laptop like enclosure.

CantSt0pPoppin,
@CantSt0pPoppin@lemmy.world avatar

I too can confirm this. I own the LE Ruby Red DS and the hinge on the right side failed. It lasted for quite some time but the stress factor was inevitable. I don’t think the hinge it’s self-failed but the plastic around it, if that makes any sense. I do hope that there is a return to folding phones only if for reducing the size of carrying around basically a tablet in your pocket. I currently have a s20/21 fe and the screen while nice, spacious and crisp is quite big for pockets.

Malisu19997,

Yeah it’s the plastic around the hinge that breaks on the DS, it was much worse on the originals than on the DS lites.

The biggest issue with the folding phones though is that folding the screen in half is going to cause wear and tear on the display and it makes it easier for it to break along the seam. Only way I could see a folding phone working is if it had two separate screens like a DS/3DS.

I don’t have an issue with phones being too big for pockets since I have plenty of room in my pockets, even for relatively large phones.

Buckie,

Currently typing this on my Fold 4 that I’ve had since launch. I don’t see myself ever going back to a normal slab style phone. I use it as a tablet that easily fits in my pocket, more often than not unfolding it for most uses. I also got a case that holds my stylus so I can draw on it when I want to. The stylus not being in the phone like in the S23 Ultra is my only complaint. Genuinely don’t notice the crease at all during use.

Oh, and price, of course. They’re so expensive. I got mine with a trade in and some heavy incentives, so I wound up with the phone, earbuds, and watch for ~$1300.

phamanhvu01, (edited )

Quite mixed on the idea of foldable phones.

On one hand, they’re pretty cool and I especially the Z Flip/razr format for its nod to the flip phone era and the portability.

On the other, their durability is er…questionable and there’s no telling if the screen will last as long as that of traditional smartphone’s. Oh and plastic screen means scratch galore, too.

Also good idea with these post mods, I see a lot of high quality comment here! It’s starting to feel like the Reddit of old times here, well without the toxicity I suppose.

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

We aim for casual but high-quality discussion with a bit of fun here and there. We have a lot of smart people here, and it’s my hope that every time somebody reads through one of these threads, they learn something new.

grasshopper_mouse,
@grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world avatar

I bought a Z Fold 2 in 2020 and still use it today. Battery life is great, screens are still great (both outer and inner). I always have a cheap case for it that covers the front screen. I have dropped it twice outside on the concrete ground and the cheap case broke, but NOT the phone, so I just bought another case each time–to me, that’s what the cheap case is for. I really like it and will probably get another version at some point, but here are my main takeaways:

  • Outer screen is very slim (think almost TV remote-sized). I have gotten used to it but God forbid you hand it to someone else to type on, they always say it’s too small
  • It’s too long for my pockets, but I’m a woman that wears women’s clothes, and our pockets are too damn small for anything, so I have to carry it in my purse
  • The screen protectors it comes with do start to fray at the edges over time, but I have never had it bubble up at the folding point/crease on the inner screen
  • If you are not known for being delicate with your phone, this is not the phone for you. If you work outdoors regularly, have a tendency to drop your phone regularly, etc, don’t buy this
  • It’s expensive
  • Not all apps are compatible with the big screen so sometimes you’re stuck with the small screen view on the big inner screen
  • Having a portable tablet is great! I got rid of my tablet when I bought this phone and have no regrets
  • It’s great for driving when using Google Maps or whichever driving app you choose. Having the big screen makes it so much easier to see the directions
  • Any video looks better on the big screen
  • I have used the big screen to view maps I downloaded for hiking
hellishharlot,
  • I love the idea of how thin the galaxy fold’s outer screen is but the reality would likely be frustrating.
  • I have the pixel fold and it fits perfectly in my pockets, also a woman wearing women’s jeans. It’s for the iphone 5 vibe like that.
syrinori,

I have the fold 4 and ive come to really appreciate how one handable the small outside display is. You end up using it more than you would expect

hellishharlot,

The thinness sounds great it’s the height that concerns me. And you can’t have too small of an outer display and end up with a good inner display

trimmerfrost,

Utter garbage. The only thing they seem to solve is that they take half the width of space when folded. Supposedly to carry a full size tablet in your pockets or something. But ok, I never needed that kind of thing

dragonslayer191991,

I love my z fold 4. It has changed the way I use all my devices

applejacks,
@applejacks@lemmy.world avatar

can you explain?

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