Technology

Meh.

Now, show me a phone with a good physical keyboard, like my old Droid 3 had, and then you've got my attention!

Personally for me; they're something I hard pass on.

Foldables have breakable mechanical parts, unwieldy software support, janky resolutions, break easily, are difficult to encase protectively, tend to be prone to sudden screen failures at the substrate (LCD/OLED) layers, and are largely still an immature technology that hasn't yet filled any niche need that I have.

I am more happy with screens that I can feel assured can possibly survive an appropriate impact and behaves like a properly hardened mineral (Mohs Hardness 7 or better) like modern screen glass typically should be. My phone should withstand occasional accidental impacts and incidents.

That expectation isn't because I'm careless. It's because I am an overabundance of careful. I deeply appreciate, value and enjoy the confidence provided by my phone being sturdy enough to survive the very occasional and casual mishaps that tend to occur. I do not like purchasing cheaply made devices typically. For smartphones; it feels like you need the device to have an actual lifespan; one should never need to replace their phone more frequently than once every 3 years; unless the phone itself breaks, or becomes obsolete due to cellular network technology upgrades.

Currently, I feel that it's mostly a gimmick. However, I'm glad that they exist as they'll just continue to get thinner and thinner to the point where they're no longer a gimmick and many people will want them.

I bought a foldable phone (Galaxy Flip) for the gimmick, but having used it now for a half a year, it's really grown on me, and I've actually found the folding features to be quite invaluable.

One nicety of the folding screen is in being able to quickly see notifications without opening the phone (and thereby being tempted to browse/procrastinate)

with my folded phone, I can quickly hold it in my palm and glance at the time and any notifications.

Another benefit of the smaller form factor is being easier to fit the phone into my pockets

as phone sizes became larger, I was progressively having harder time finding clothes with large enough pockets for my phone. With the folding phone, I can comfortably fit the phone into my pocket, while still having a larger screen when I need it. It also makes it easier to take my phone with me while running, as I can fold it and place it into my running pouch

a larger phone might fit, but the volume would no doubt be uncomfortable against my body as I move.

Bear in mind, I'm referring here to a folding model which folds into a small square and thus has a smaller area

even I don't fully see the benefits of the larger-form-factor folding phones.

It's really cool technology, even in the early stages. In the not too distant future though, when I see a person take a giant display, fold it up, and put it in their pocket, they'll have my undivided attention

(ﾟ◯ﾟ)

As a repair technician, I would stay well away from foldables (the durability/parts availability ratio being my main concern). I have to say, though, the massive nerd in me is not happy at all…

I bought a Flip 4 last October. While I liked a lot of stuff about it I was anxious about keeping it as my main driver for the next 3-4 years.

Aside from the fear of the folding mechanism wearing down heavily over the years, I was disappointed by small quality stuff such as those plastic bumpers at the bottom bezel of the screen that fell off after a few months. Other than that, the battery was small for such a big phone, 3700 mah for a 6.7 inch phone while unfolded, so the battery life wasn't that good, the camera experience was a bit mediocre, there are only two camera lens on the back, none of which are zoom lens just doesn't do it for me. There's also the thing of having to open the phone and close it everytime which was annoying.

I didn't think I could sell it, especially when the small coverscreen was cracked or scratched (I couldn't tell which at the time) . Anyway, some retail chain offered trade ins for a list of phones including mine, while they didn't offer much for it on paper and in reality, I reckoned there's no other way I could rid of it in it's state and because it's a foldable and people would be wary of buying it used. So I took the hit, lost much of what I paid for it and traded it in for the regular S23.

As I said I liked so much stuff about it, especially the coverscreen and clutching it while folded felt nice, I also miss the sidekey fingerprint scanner but I regret buying the phone since I was clearly not the target audience, also the technology hasn't yet matured and many of the issues I mentioned may be resolved in future iterations.

Hence, after all, I should've just waited for the S23 Ultra.

i like my Fold 4 but i'm also a nerd that likes silly toys. it's nice to have a phone that just feels different. plus it lets me read manga and stuff a lot easier

Their a cool idea but until we can figure exactly how to fold it without it creating other issues they arent going to be very practical not to mention the durability issue

Repairabilty and durability are more important to me. AFAIK none of the folding phones are particularly repairable or durable.

I've had two flip phones and I have loved them both, but both of them have had minor splintering appear on the screen at the hinge and it seems like once that starts your warranty is void because they refuse to cover their own manufacturing defect, and for that reason I wouldn't buy another folding phone for a while, until the technology has matured. I do love my flip phone, it's the most fun I've had with a smartphone and it's a great conversation starter. Being able to take selfies with the outer camera and outer screen as a viewfinder is very nice too.

@spoonful
I think it's a fun gimmick for people who want to play with it. I'm not even remotely interested in owning one.

Waiting for the price to come down and lineage support. The best thing about it is you get the best if both worlds with a big screen which can still go into your pocket easily enough.

I have an old cheap smartphone that I have wanted to replace for many years now. But any time I check the market it has been mostly more boring phones bloated with features and hardware that I care nothing for. The only thing that actually has me a bit excited are foldable or rollables, though I'm stuck in a endless "just wait one more generation" loop. I am gonna have to break it soon.

I think they are an awesome concept, and I can see how certain people could really take advantage of the larger screen and better multitasking.

Personally the things stopping me are

• Plastic screens. I already scratch my glass ones.
• Cost. In Canada they are 2x more than a regular flagship.
• Worse front screen. I just know I'll get lazy with the folding aspect quickly, and I'll just be using a worse front screen the majority of the time.

One of the largest upsides I see, though, is the fact you can use the rear cameras as front facing cameras. That's pretty wild and opens up WAY better selfies and video calls.

The Motorola Razr was the cool kid phone growing up, so when the new gen of flip phones appeared I was very hyped in a nostalgic way. I currently have a Z Flip 3, and while it's fun, I'm not sure if I would get another. I do like the clamshell nature of it since I drop my phone a lot, but I feel like the dimensions are weird even though I have big hands. It's just very tall. I don't regret it and I might give the tech another shot down the road, but my next phone will be the type that only folds once.

I love the idea of them and can see myself getting one eventually. Just too expensive at the moment for me. The thought of ds emulation on it though is pretty appealing ngl

I think they're cool, but I have doubts about the reliability. Plus non-folding phones are both cheaper and fancier.

I've had a Flip 3 for about a year and I honestly love the phone, but more for the style/fun factor of the flip over the actual usefulness. I was a huge fan of flip phones in the feature phone era and hated having to switch to candybar, lol, so I had to give it a try!

Pros for me:

• Looks very cool, flip phone nostalgia value
• I have some mobility problems and being able to set the phone on a table to use it as opposed to having the weight stressing my hands is nice
• Great for reading ebooks in a 2-page view
• Can see notifs, quick check music, dismiss alarms etc without opening
• Fits great in small pockets

Cons:

• This particular model is so ridiculously slidey on the outside that it won't even stay still on a level table so a case is 100% required, but hopefully other foldables will avoid this lol
• Relatedly, not exactly a big case variety for this style of phone
• worry of "what if the screen cracks" hanging over my head

It's been a fun purchase, but I'm not completely sold on the necessity or usefulness yet. If my screen is still okay by the time I'm ready for a new phone in a couple more years then I'll call it a good purchase. So far I haven't had any problems or signs of issues at the folding point, hopefully the trend continues, but I do make a point to leave the phone open most of the time when I don't specifically need the folding functions.

I've got a foldable one, the phone's performance is great, and I cannot feel the fold while I'm swiping around.

That said, I don't use the folding part much, it's just going straight in my pocket, and the split screen mode isn't that useful for my use cases atleast - so much so that foldability won't be much of a factor in my next purchase

Honestly, i find them kinda dumb. But they hint at the idea of a phone you can fold into the shape of a paperplane. So im on the lookout for any breakthrough in that area.

I'm excited for the pricing to eventually come down, seen them in action and they look great.

They're a niche product, so it makes sense that the people who buy them love them. I didn't know the Oppo existed, it seems a good solution to the crease problem.

Basically you get yourself an expandable phone if you need a tablet and don't want to have two separate devices, for one reason or another. I'm sure people who travel constantly for business love them.

For the average user? Reliability is much more important.

I've had a samsung fold for 3 years now. Had the 2nd Gen, then upgraded to the 3rd Gen 2 years ago due to the water and dust resistance.

I've had zero reliability problems. I love it and can never go back.

As a clumsy person I cannot imagine them lasting long with how often I drop my phone. I'm not big on buying new phones extremely often anyways, I can still get a number of years out of my Galaxy S10 I think

I'm really keen on folding phones. They remind me of a time when phones were more than just a shiny rectangle, when they had physical features to draw in new customers. When/if Apple finally jump in on them, I'd be tempted. But the older I get, the more cynical I become, and can't help but think about the lifespan of those £1500 devices.

I mean, my current phone is an iPhone 13 mini, and I love it. It's physical feature is that it's smaller than almost everything else out there, and I know that, four, five years from now, I'll be able to replace the battery in it for a nominal fee, and keep on using it.

I don't see foldables being that way.

How long will the screens on them last before they give up, rendering the whole device useless because the cost of repair is comparable to that of simply replacing the whole thing? And that's to the benefit of the manufacturer, whose only goal is to sell more phones. Of course, this will also massively affect the resell value. I just sold my last phone, an iPhone XR, for £180. That's a four year old device that's still worth 1/4 of it's original price. How much can you sell a four year old Razr or Galaxy Flip for, given the finite life span of the screen?

I've got a Galaxy Z Fold 4 and I don't think I can realistically see myself going back to a non-foldable form factor unless they just give up and stop making them. I have very few complaints with this phone. I have a small wish list of things that I'd love to see, but I'm super happy with how it is right now.

My top wish would be to have an integrated S-Pen slot in the phone like the S23 Ultra has. Then making the phone actually a little bigger, maybe getting to an 6.5" outer screen and 8" or so inner screen. Closing totally flat would be good, but I actually don't mind the small gap. I don't even notice it with my case on. I thought I would hate the crease but it's actually not even something I think about at all. Having it open 100% perfectly flat would be amazing but the crease genuinely doesn't bother me.

Snake is a very cool game.

A gimmick that’s overstaying it’s welcome. Why buy a premium phone that has more ways it can break that has less software support?

I think they're cool, but they all end up with a crease on the screen. That will keep me from ever getting one.

Not my kind of thing. I need a phone that can resist being dropped 30 times a day.

I haven’t had a chance yet to look into how long the screens last. That’s my biggest worry. Otherwise, I think there’s potential there to have some really compelling offerings.

Kind of entrenched in the Apple ecosystem for now, though, so until I decide to leave or they decide to make one, it’s kind of a non-issue for me I guess.

Phones were already too expensive and prone to breaking without introducing foldables, so I don't see the appeal. If it wasn't so slow and expensive, I think I would have considered the original surface duo, as I prefer durability over a seamless screen. The new one with the camera bump, I don't like the look of.

Test

I only want a phone for communication and a basic audio player. I don't need a bigger screen with higher cost and more distractions.

I'm pretty ingrained in the Apple ecosystem but if they came out with a phone that could be similar in size to their current phones that folded out to the size of the new mini ipad, I'd probably try it out. I love the size of the mini and that would let me have one device instead of two.

Agree on the durability issues though. I'm assuming if Apple made one they'd have that figured out but I'd need to see the reviews first.

I'll be getting a book style foldable once they hit about £800. Anything more than that is a bit rich for my blood