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.

danielfgom,
@danielfgom@lemmy.world avatar

I like them. I think they have great potential and make sense in certain use cases. My preference would be the flip/clamshell style because it makes the phone smaller and with a large outer display you don’t have to open it as much.

For me the larger fold style is too big and heavy to use as phone. If it were a tablet that folded for travel or for easily storing in a drawer, that makes sense. Although I can understand if a traveling business man used a fold phone because in meetings and flights he they could use the bigger screen for work. But they probably also have a briefcase to carry it in.

Having said that, the current pricing is way, way too high. They would need to cost at least half or less for me to consider buying one. Around €350 for a flip and €700 for a fold seems about right to me.

I also think Motorola RAZR Ultra is the better folding phone at the moment as compared to the Flip 5, because the Samsung is very square and chunky, whereas the Moto is round and sleek.

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

How did you like our Sony discussion before our break?

abalboa3,

I’ve been using my Pixel Fold for almost 2 weeks, and I love it. Actually using the new Sync app to write this and it looks beautiful on the inner screen.

I have used the Fold3 since launch (still have it), an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and Galaxy s23U over this past year as well. The iPhone I used for a couple of months and face it to my wife. While I know I’m still in the honeymoon period, I really enjoy using my Pixel Fold.

The Pixel Fold is exactly what I wanted from a folding phone. When closed it’s the perfect size for using it like a regular phone. I really liked the size of the Pixel 6a and iPhone Xs and the PF when closed is similar to those. Obviously, a little heavier and slightly thicker. Once you open it, you have a nice mini tablet for consuming media or running 2 apps together.

My battery life has been great, performance has been stellar, cameras are also fantastic. I wish more apps were optimized for the inner screen like Sync, but even if they’re not I can rotate it or run 2 apps.

I know people worry about durability, for good reason, the Fold3 that I’ve had for almost 2 years has done great so far. I’ve had to get the inner screen protector replaced twice, but other than that it’s still hanging in there.

It will be great when the prices start coming down. I think with Google and Motorola really moving into this class it will help drive the price down. It will be nice when more people have the option of foldables, it’ll force developers to optimize for them.

charles,

I’ve been interested in getting a foldable for a long time but I’ve yet to pull the trigger.

Would you mind expanding on how the Pixel Fold and Galaxy Fold3 compare? I had a Pixel 2XL and then switched to a Note20 Ultra when the Pixel started showing its age, and I struggle to see myself going back simply due to OneUI and my SPen. But the Pixel Fold has definitely had me intrigued about going back, I’m just not sure how the Pixel OS compares nowadays, especially with Google’s track-record of not really supporting their own products.

abalboa3,

Honestly, the main thing that annoyed me on the Fold3 was the very narrow outer screen. I hated doing just about anything on it so I always felt like I needed to open it up and use the inner screen. I’m not a super multitasker so I would only open up 2 apps at once and even then not very often (you get 2 narrow screened apps). The camera was also a little disappointing even when I first got it 2 years ago. It’s nice having the SPen, but it’s never been a deal breaker for me.

I have enjoyed how OneUI has matured over the years and don’t mind it. They do give you a lot of flexibility. About a year ago I bought a Pixel 6a, it was the first Google phone I had since the Nexus days, and I loved the Pixel software experience.

When the s23U came out I was sick of the Fold3 narrow screen and wanted a better camera, although I really love the Pixel 6a camera, so I ended up changing out my Fold3 for the s23U. Again, I enjoy the OneUI experience.

The Pixel Fold, for me is just about my perfect phone. The Pixel experience is great, cameras are amazing, and the outside is a joy to use. My Fold3 usage was 20/80 outer/inner screen usage. Again, mainly because the outer screen on the Fold3 was just not for me. My Pixel Fold usage is now more like 60/40 because I really enjoy the experience on both screens.

I know people critique Pixel devices, mainly for Tensor issues of overheating, battery, and performance. I haven’t noticed any of these issues on my Pixel File. The Pixel 6a did have kind of bad battery when I first got it but since has been great. I started my Pixel Food with Android 13 and it was good, but I changed to 14 beta and have been on that for over a week. The beta has been great and again, performance and battery have been very good as well.

I hope that helps some. I really can’t wait until foldables become a more viable option for more people. It’s such a great experience.

skullgiver,
@skullgiver@popplesburger.hilciferous.nl avatar

Same as the Apple AR headset: I want one, but not for that price. I’ll wait for them to become cheaper or I’ll just never buy one I guess.

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?

haych, (edited )
@haych@lemmy.one avatar

I am currently using a Galaxy Fold 3.

I’m torn between “I can never go back to a normal phone this is amazing” and “this is fragile and has crap battery and a normal phone would be better”.

MyNameIsIgglePiggle,

Too breaky

Sigurd,

I think they seem like an interesting concept. After a bunch of work from different companies (mostly samsung to my knowledge) they are actually starting to seem viable well exept for the price. But i bet you that we will be getting foldable tablets that you can turn into large screens at some point.

StoicLime,

Never used one, (can’t afford to right now), but I adore the idea of the smaller flip ones. I would definitely take one if they reduced the crease in the future, it’s too noticeable right now.

prey169,

If Samsung had the ultra camera package, I would’ve kept the z fold 4 last year. I really liked the screen sizes (both inside and out). But until they give us a camera package that’s equivalent of the s2*U of that same year, it’s not worth it imo

nexussapphire,

EDIT: I thought it said affordable phones

I personally believe in getting the fastest new/used/refurbished phone you can get with the features you want and keep it as long as you can.

A cheap phone usually ends up being about the same performance as a 4-10 year old flagship and a lot more compromises in cameras, ram, storage, durability, etc.

Pillarist,

I tried the Pixel Fold because I’ve been using their phones since the Nexus days. I went into it very skeptically… Meaning I made sure I was thoroughly aware of the return policy.

I’m sold. Weight doesn’t bother me and the benefits of being able to swap into a screen with that much real estate for viewing, multitasking, playing games, etc far outweigh a little thickness and weight. It fits in my pocket way better than I imagined and the front screen is actually more functionally sized that my 7 Pro’s due to how damned tall it is! If you’re not hard on your phones (I don’t imagine it takes a beating as well as a regular phone) then I suggest you give it a shot. I’m definitely never going back.

Puffymumpkins,

Fantastic if you need a computer in your pocket. Terrible for everything else

toasteranimation,
@toasteranimation@lemmy.world avatar

Like ‘fetch’ they’re never going to happen

InfiniteFlow, (edited )
@InfiniteFlow@lemmy.world avatar

Seem like one of the shitttiest ideas out there, done just for the sake of novelty. If you’re lucky you’ll get creases and bad touch responsiveness. If you’re not, it is the most obvious point of failure due to mechanical stress. I could perhaps get behind “rollable” screens or the like (no hard crease), if they prove reliable.

Edit: spelling

YaksDC,

I do not have a need for so much real estate on my mobile device. Nor do I want to carry anything thicker than a phone in my pocket. I use my Galaxy S20 Ultra which serves me well on the go and I my laptop if I want to look at something on a larger screen while I am home.

UnknownQuantity,

Now imagine if you could fold your S20U in half like a flip phone that has a nice informative screen on the outside of the top half. I have S20U as well and I find it too tall for most pockets.

YaksDC,

I wouldn’t want to have that much of a brick in my pocket. I would rather it stick out a little.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • [email protected]
  • uselessserver093
  • Food
  • aaaaaaacccccccce
  • test
  • CafeMeta
  • testmag
  • MUD
  • RhythmGameZone
  • RSS
  • dabs
  • oklahoma
  • feritale
  • KamenRider
  • Ask_kbincafe
  • TheResearchGuardian
  • KbinCafe
  • Socialism
  • SuperSentai
  • All magazines
    •