Foldable smartphones have reached their fifth major generation, as heralded by Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5…
For me it’s definitely the durability concerns. I’ve valued my phone’s water and dust resistance since getting an ip67 phone years and years ago. My brother had a flip and a grain of sand in his pocket got under the display; when he closed the phone the display died. And they expect me to pay more for the privilege.
Paying more for a less durable device is not what I prefer to do.
The fact the most of them are made by Samsung and I can’t stand the amount of bloatware Samsung put on their devices.
Im not gonna buy a phone that’s worth several months of salary in my country only to get mugged the moment I pull it out
I’m a fan of small phones and as such been waiting for the fold-tech to lead to smaller devices.
Therefore the Razr+ (40 Ultra) and the Flip5 are the first phones to raise my interest since I got my Pixel 5.
I really like the way Moto implemented the external Display but the Flip seems to win in almost any other category.
After reading/watching a lot of reviews I came to the conclusion that (for now) I’ll still be better off with a Galaxy S23. Maybe next year…
I’ve had my Galaxy zflip 3 for about 2 years now. Lots of comments here are saying they are too fragile or poorly made but that has not been my experience:
- the battery is fine
- the screen hasn’t scratched
- it flips open fine with a one handed flick of the wrist
- I’ve dropped it several times without damage
- it has been used in the rain and snow
- I’ve replaced the screen protector once myself due to it peeling at the fold. Having to change screen protectors happens on every phone I’ve owned due to peeling somewhere
- I can drop it in my pocket folded without worrying about keys, coins, or whatever else scratching up the screen
- being able to use the phone as it’s own tripod is nice for photos
- flipping it shut to end phonecalls is satisfying
- price is about the same as any other new Samsung phone (I got mine close to free trading in a Galaxy s10e)
The new flip 5 looks really nice with the bigger cover screen but I don’t plan to upgrade anytime soon since this phone is working well for me.
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First, the price point is stupid
Second, I don’t trust a folding monitor to last
Third, every other time I’ve gone to a platform that’s different from what 99% of apps are written for, I’ve felt frustrated because the apps didn’t take advantage of that and here I was with support for that but no benefit to me.
The phrase “what’s stopping you” implies we’re all interested, but hesitant.
This is a really, really bad assumption.
Uhh the price tag? I just bought a new phone after 6 years of honoured service from my old one, payed the new one a whopping 300€ and it already felt like a rip off. Ain’t no way I’m paying four digits for a phone.
Why the fuck would I want mechanical stress?
My current phone still works.
They’re way too expensive. Moving parts such as the folding screen are just a focal point for stress, which is unacceptable given how expensive they are. I hate hearing that people can get dust in the hinge without anyway to clean it out.
You’re also paying for extra screens such as the one on the outside and the folding inner screen. This is just added unnecessary cost when you’ll never use both at the same time. I’m guessing the outer screens were added to reduce the number of times people unfold the phone over its lifetime, which gets back to my other point that adding moving parts just adds more issues than it solves.
Overall, I see it as a novelty at best. From the prices I’ve seen them sold at for the phones that turn into a tablet like device when unfolded, you can just buy a phone and a tablet separately for less. I think their purpose is to create a product more expensive than what the current flagship phones run, giving rich people something to spend additional money on to to show they have a lot of money and enough novelty for tech reviewers to discuss during reviews.
I really just cant stand the weird plastic-looking screens they all have on the inside.
Also yeah being anywhere from double to triple the price for something that I think looks objectively worse than a regular glass phone screen is just… not gonna happen.
Since getting a wearable display, screens are no longer a priority.
Like a smartwatch? I’d love the z fold for notes and such as well as games and video but I have reservations over durability and price.
Nah. A sunglasses form-factor, head-mounted display. Only 1080p per eye but does the trick. It’s been a game changer for how I prefer to interact with devices. My current phone doesn’t support DisplayPort AltMode, unfortunately, but that is going to be a priority for me on the next one.
Which glasses?
The ones that I’ve been using are the Xreal (formerly known as Nreal) Air. Not bad price, compared to a good monitor and none of the creepy cameras.
Huh… the folding. I’m already mad that I can’t get a solid 5 years out of a $1200 phone, there’s no way I’m shelling out for a first wave foldy.
We’re already in the 5th generation for Samsung, far from the first wave!
