Android

The phrase "what's stopping you" implies we're all interested, but hesitant.

This is a really, really bad assumption.

Price, durability, use case...

There's nothing about them that makes them worth sacrificing the first two above.

The price, the line down the middle, the hinge. Generally just not requiring any more screen space

I mean they cost at least a grand.

My current phone still works.

I don't pay more than £400 for a phone. So that.

My current phone still works, too expensive, durability concerns (my current phone would not be working were it a foldable), center crease, looks like a pain to repair (right to repair hell yeah!), and most importantly...

...why? What do I gain by going with a foldable? My current phone doesn't need to fold to fit in my pocket, and it doesn't have so many compromises.

1. My current phone works fine
2. I can't run CalyxOS or GrapheneOS on it
3. They are way too expensive

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.

Stresses me out each time I open and close my phone thinking the life span of the display is shortened by 1

Price and durability. I don't know, I can maybe get one eventually if I really want to, but shelling out like ~$1500 USD for a unproven screen design is pretty yikes to me. Plus, since my LG V60 is still serving me so well I really see no good reason to replace it.

It all comes down to the gimmick not being worth an additional thousand euros to the price of my phone.

I don't think durability would be a problem for me as I already baby my glass back device and I haven't been using screen protectors for years with no problem. The downgrade in cameras isn't that big of a deal for me as most pictures I take are macro, and as it turns out phones nowadays are horrendous dogshit at it anyway.

I think I'd enjoy the gimmick, I used to own a flip phone as a teenager, it's just not worth a thousand euros extra. I'd probably add another 150 or 200 euros to my pixel to buy a folding phone.

Why would I care if my phone folds. Id rather have no crease in my screen. But I don't drop my phones often, is that the point of it folding? Cause it getting wider and shorter doesn't necessarily make it more convenient

• Price
• Durability
• my feelings towards UI designers that now have to think "what if the screen just halved in size out of nowhere?"

My clothes have pockets

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 don't want one. It's a cool technological feat, but like a transparent monitor or flexible keyboard, it just doesn't make sense for my needs.

It's way too expensive for what I want.

I actually just want a very small but very functional smartphone since I currently don't have a phone at all.

I just use my Tab S7+5G as a phone, been doing that since the S6. I've just recently ran into some issues where I might need a smaller device, e.g. to use some store app QR codes or similar stuff where you'd have to present your phone. Well... I can actually do that just fine, but pulling out a 12inch tablet makes you look like a dork.

To be honest, I'd wish someone made a non-folding phone with a the height of a folded folding phone lmao

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.

Nobody's mentioned it, but the main thing for me is that the screen aspect ratio isn't any good.

I've always preferred bigger screens and bigger phones and willing to pay a bit extra for a foldable screen now they've been on the market for a while. I doubt they'll last as long as a normal phone screen, but they generally review well and I get they impression they are more durable than most people expect.

But.. the main benefit of a big screen (for me) is for watching videos. If it's not 16:9 (or close to it) then what's the point? I don't need to multitask on my phone, I'll switch to a laptop for that - I've had phones that do split screen for years and it was a cool gimmick for a while, but I've never really made good use of it.

If anyone can tell me of a phone with a big screen and 16:9 aspect ratio then I'd be willing to reconsider...

I don't see myself folding a foldable. Why would I want that?

I took the dive, got one and it's awesome. I browse Lemmy 95% of the time on my outer screen. I went with Motorola Razor+ because I'm not the biggest Samsung fan and I totally impulse bought it. Unless it's something that demands I open my phone, I don't really, and that was what got me to get it. Without the outside screen I probably wouldn't have gotten it, but totally glad I did.

IMO, I think it's a pretty dumb concept in the way we're currently implementing it. If I want a borderline TV to carry around, I'll buy a tablet. I just want a phone for quick access to my communications mainly; I don't have vision issues that requires the screen to even be as big as some of the "small" offerings from the larger players in the cellular market. Additionally, to satisfy the quick access, many have multiple screens now, which I think is equally dumb, you're never going to use both screens at the same time, and most of the time there's no use-case where both screens would be on. The only viable folding device IMO, is the zFlip, and my pockets aren't small enough for me to care, or justify the extra cost, and durability concerns.

I recognize it's an important step in the process to make phones like this to further the foldable screens, so they can be further developed to be more durable, more flexible, and overall better than they currently are, but I, personally, have no need for one, nor desire to own one. The crease isn't pretty either, but it's not my chief concern.... it's just way too much for way too little. I haven't appreciated the direction of phones for a while, or the emphasis on the camera; simply, I want something better, faster, easier to use, and that lasts longer. Not a phablet with less than 18 hours of battery life, and a last-gen mobile radio in it.... Samsung did that kind of thing with the Galaxy Note, and I find the folding phones to be an extension of that.

I love technology, I wok in technology and I appreciate it, but I have no desire for this. Give me a 5" screen, with powerful hardware under the hood and a good, latest-gen LTE/5G/whatever radio and WiFi 6e/7/whatever, and a decent battery, and I'm happy. Lately phones are too big for my large hands, and have cut so many corners that anything affordable is slow as all heck. I don't want to pay multiple thousands of dollars for something that works for me, simply because it has a bunch of fancy camera features I'm never going to care about. Having a camera is good, but 90% of the time I'm taking pictures of racks of equipment, wires, and my cat. I don't need a 50 megapixel camera with both wide angle and telephoto supplemental cameras and AI enhancements/image processing to capture images of my feline, or my network switch. What I do need is something that I can flip between half a dozen different apps to do my job, with a fast network connection so I can move data around quickly, and a battery that doesn't need charging multiple times a day so that my phone will stay powered on while I work...

Bulky, expensive, unneeded

The purpose of folding a phone is carrying it in a more pocketable form.

I don't need that because I'm a man always with regular pockets which are fine for carrying a Pixel 6 Pro screen.

If I wanted a bigger screen, I would also want a keyboard and a mouse. So you could say that I'm freaking hyped for the upcoming DEX-like desktop mode coming to AOSP. Video-out on a Pixel, fucking finally.

Paying more for a less durable device is not what I prefer to do.

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.

Generally, I love mine, I like reading the paper on mine. No issues with durability, I take mine downhill mountain biking in the PNW, skiing in Canada, the works. The only issue I have with mine is that the made for foldable apps suck ass and you must avoid them like the plague. Who wants a permanent hamburger menu that takes up half the screen permanently while the other half of the screen (which is smaller than a normal phone) is used to display content, messages, and pictures?

Imagine the ribbon at the top of microsoft word taking up 50% of your monitor, lmao.

The high price also has to go. I'd like to see foldables for $750, though I know that's a pipe dream.

Since getting a wearable display, screens are no longer a priority.

It's also inconvenient. Having to unfold the phone before using is cumbersome and it doesn't fit well in my pockets.

I prefer the standard chocolate bar style it's less likely to break and it fits fine in my hand

Exclusively price. I want a Fold very bad but, too much $

I want a screen protector

I love my fold 4, and as long as I can afford them, will never go back to a normal phone. I believe in holding onto phones as long as possible, and won't be getting a fold5 or fold6 if my screen holds out becsuse that's just silly. This one works.

I mmade the jump based on the following argument: People agree to pay $1200 for an XL model phone every year but why. 6.X inches has been the standard since like...the pixel 2. 5 years now? People keep buying phones every year for what? There was nothing new. It's marginally, unnoticeablely faster. The screen wasnt getting bigger. The pixel 3xl was just a pixel 2xl but newer. (I bought my 3xl when 5s had been announced so I wasn't paying full retail) There was no reason to buy new phones every year and stay paying money to my telecom. The features just did not add up year over year and felt stagnant. I bought a pixel3 only because the pixel2 battery started inflating.

If you own a budget model phone, a flagship is worth that cost. If you hang onto your phone for 3+ years, a new flagship is worth the cost. But if you have a flagship, made last year, why would you sign a lease every year, what does perpetually paying $50 a month actually do for you? Phones are stagnant. You're just paying to not have an old phone, or you're paying because you want the ego of having a new phone. (No judgement just how people are, being the first person with a noticably new phone and getting complements feels good, I would know lol)

So I said fuck it and got a Fold2 right as price dropped, when fold3s dropped. I signed for 900, and had it a year. People complain about size, the crease, the weight. But ultimately these are petty whines. You stop noticing it. Hold your iPhone Max. Hold your Galaxy Ultra. Now go pick up a tiny flip phone from 2005. Go pick up an iPhone 4, or a galaxy 4. Your phone now is huge and heavy. You didn't notice it because you got used to it. Folds are the same way. I traded my fold 2 for a fold 4 because burgundy and camera bump was much better. Cases for the fold2 were hard to find and fold4 came with one. Otherwise I would still have the fold2.

Fragility. Treat your $2000 phone with respect. Based on some peoples screens you'd swear they use it as a fucking hammer in their spare time. I understand here is where people have issues. The plastic screen is a dealbreaker I get it. If you drop it, caseless, onto concrete yes you do run the risk of breaking it. People wanting a more durable screen is fair. Hard agree. Samsung is the leader in this field and noone is challenging it yet, so they're slacking. I pay $8 a month for asurion insurance through my provider. For $150 if I total the screen I get a new phone no questions asked. I really can't ask for a better deal than that. If you're on the fence, and the fragile screen scares you, get insurance. I don't blame people too much for being afraid of breaking it, but there's options now, where there wasn't with the fold 1 and 2.

And no, I'm not a samsung mouthpiece. The repairability on folds is fucking ass. If you dont have insurance, the big screen is like $700. On top of that, battery replacements are total wash because Samsung doesn't believe in pulltabs. If fragility is your issue, I get it. Anything else? Nah you will be ok you just gotta get used to it.

I see them as every way inferior to normal phones. I don't get why they're popular.

I have a foldable and I hate my foldable. I am literally counting down the days until I can get rid of it.

In the beginning, it was fine but I didn't use the tablet mode as much as I thought I would. It was mostly just videos and manga. Then the hinge started to get dust or debris under it and wouldn't open all the way. This has slowly gotten worse and worse and I don't even want to open it even if I have a good use case now.

The outer screen is too thin but it does make it easy to hold and type one-handed at least.

The device is also bulky obviously which is fine but with a case, it's about an inch thick which is a bit unwieldy.

The battery life is awful, even without using the main screen. I usually have to charge once a day and overnight.

I just miss my Note. Nice big wide screen, comfortable to hold. Massive battery. Nice stylus. :(

Cost and durability

I hated the idea until I bought a Fold4. I'm always careful with my electronics, even so, I've dropped it several times on accident and had zero issues. I can't imagine going back to a slab phone, the flexibility of the extra screen real estate is something I use so often that it really would be a significant disruption to my everyday to go back to a slab.

Reliability is a reasonable concern, but the benefits far outweigh the potential risks for me. If you're breaking phones all the time, they probably aren't a good fit for you. I don't bring my phone to beach so maybe I'm more careful than the average user - regardless, I guess that's why I have a smartwatch.

The crease is still far too noticable for me. That and the outrageous price that some of these things close when they eventually make it to the shelves with the "Australia tax" applied to it.

I actually used to have one, but even though I was very careful with it, the screen kept breaking from normal everyday use. Eventually, my phone insurance decided they'd no longer cover this type of phone due to it being too fragile, so I went back to using a regular phone.

Mix of cost and it doesn't actually benefit me at all. I buy a cheap phone and it does everything it needs to, i don't need to add a 0 to the cost to get no actual benefit for me.

Probably makes more sense for people that actually use their phones for work or something.