this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2023
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[–] dm_me_your_feet@lemmy.world 62 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'm sceptical. With all the added complexity of a foldable, the specs are probably gonna be below average to absymal. I'd love to be proven wrong tho.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 20 points 11 months ago (12 children)

Dunno man samsung's mid range phones are exceptionally good.

[–] sugartits@lemmy.world 47 points 11 months ago (9 children)

Is that before or after you remove all the extra crap that Samsung shovel on it?

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[–] Dasnap@lemmy.world 52 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (7 children)

Every person I've known who has owned a foldable has had it eventually break because of the fold. We try to keep moving mechanical parts out of tech for a reason. I've never had a smartphone 'suddenly break' like a printer or car.

[–] echo64@lemmy.world 16 points 11 months ago

This might be a bias. I've had a foldable for two and a bit years now, no issues aside from I hate the camera, but that's always been a constant

[–] Exusia@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago (4 children)

The glass "runs out" of flexs.

I've had 2 for a year each and no major issues. Now that this one is just out of warranty and working towards year 2 guess I'll see. I love the sheer size of the screen so much.

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[–] MeanEYE@lemmy.world 12 points 11 months ago (2 children)

My Fold4 still looks new, and it's been a year now since I bought it. I use mine both as phone and a laptop replacement.. Sure inner screen is more fragile but also more protected when closed. You do have to set your expectations right. Definitely not a phone for people who don't take care of their own devices. But at the same time, device doesn't break by opening and closing it.

[–] firadin@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

How do you use it as a laptop replacement? What tasks are you doing on it that would otherwise be done on a laptop? I feel like its too small, it would only replace phone tasks for me.

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[–] Mr_Dr_Oink@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Whilst i might be biased, my samsung fold 3 has been fine for 2 years. My mum and step dad have had the flip 2 and 4, a colleague at work has a gold 4 and two colleagues at qork have a fold 5 each.

No issues at all.

I would argue that you have also formed a bias based on people you know who perhaps dont take care of their insanely expensive phones.

Although saying that, I've dropped mine multiple times, onto wood flooring, ceramic tiles, and tarmac (i practically threw it onto the tarmac when something scared me). Amd all it auffered was a few scratches and dents on the edges. Both screens are absolutely fine.

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[–] Thorny_Insight@lemm.ee 4 points 11 months ago (6 children)

Other than the novelty of it, I don't see the attraction of folding devices. Other than folding it doesn't do anything that my non-folding smartphone doesn't.

[–] Waryle@jlai.lu 38 points 11 months ago

Bigger screen with a constrained form factor. If you don't need a bigger screen, you're just not the target, but that doesn't mean it's totally useless.

[–] Drewelite@lemmynsfw.com 14 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Main camera selfies look amazing, multitasking with apps are usable, works as a kickstand, can easily fit in a clutch, big screen for videos, etc

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[–] LifeLikeLady@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Ever try to stuff a modern phone into a small purse?

Form factor has been a complaint since the HTC EVO.

[–] Kiosade@lemmy.ca 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

Yes, it’s why I got an iphone 12 mini. Super small! I don’t know how people deal with the huge ones that are practically a small tablet.

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[–] JoBo@feddit.uk 9 points 11 months ago (2 children)
[–] alphacyberranger@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

I would kill for a smaller sized phone at an affordable price and good/decent spec.

[–] Thorny_Insight@lemm.ee 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

They look super thick though. I can't imagine that being very comfortable in a pocket.

[–] JoBo@feddit.uk 5 points 11 months ago

No thicker than a wallet.

[–] Exusia@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

Not really noticeable unless you wear super tight clothing and you get used to the weight.

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[–] MondayToFriday@lemmy.ca 44 points 11 months ago (3 children)

It's so prone to cracking along the fold, though. You should either get the extended warranty or treat the phone as disposable, because it will likely not last more than a couple of years.

[–] Prking@lemmy.world 39 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Every single person who I’ve known or seen with a foldable Samsung has a prominent fold (enough to lift the top layer of the screen) or crack.

The tech just isn’t there yet.

[–] echo64@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That's not a screen layer, that's the screen protector. You can remove it. It's just some plastic

[–] Prking@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Samsung advise not to remove the screen protector, ironically because doing so can damage the screen.

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[–] danielton@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz 26 points 11 months ago

extended warranty

All they have to do is say the magic word: "Cosmetic"

[–] pycorax@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Still have my Fold 3 which I got 2 years ago, it's definitely more fragile so if you're prone to dropping your phone maybe don't get it but it's not as fragile as people make it seem. It's not for everyone for sure but damn is it convenient and useful.

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[–] TwoBeeSan@lemmy.world 44 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Have been using the flip 3 for a couple years.

I love the small design. Is it a Gimmick? Yeah probably. Do I like that Gimmick? Absolutely. It would he difficult to go back to a big ass phone. Routinely carry it at work by the ring on the case. Removes my need for a watch since I can easily reply or answer when it's closed, control media, etc.

Love to see more unique smart phone options. The phones were too samey for too long. This budget option could help that innovation even more.

[–] ElBarto@sh.itjust.works 17 points 11 months ago

I had to jump back to a standard phone after both my flip4 hinges died on me, it was hard but I'm pretty much used to it, haven't tried to fold it in half in a week, so that's good.

[–] PatrickYaa@lemmy.one 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

How is the screen holding up?

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[–] lorty@lemmy.ml 4 points 11 months ago

Same here. I don't understand why everyone in this thread is talking about cracks and creases after it was fixed in the generations following the first.

[–] sucricdrawkcab@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

I was looking at the bigger foldables and came to the reality I don't need it. Ended up getting a RAZR+. I'll never be able to go back to a full size phone now because of the size. I've just gotten used to using the outer screen and hope this size keeps getting better.

[–] cheese_greater@lemmy.world 37 points 11 months ago

Samsung Gameboy PS

[–] LoyalOrange503@lemmy.world 32 points 11 months ago

I'll adopt it once it's reliable enough that it won't crack along the screen.

[–] AzureRT@reddthat.com 14 points 11 months ago (4 children)

Would rather have a new Samsung phone that's tiny

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[–] danielfgom@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago (2 children)

At last. Price has been the biggest barrier for most people

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[–] daltotron@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

I think this would be awesome if they used the same aspect ratio paper does, 1 to 1.414, so you could open the phone and have a phone in the same aspect ratio but larger. You know, if we're going to keep having nonsense screen aspect ratios where you can't watch any videos without black bars or zoom, you might as well do something fun with it.

Edit: it's also really stupid that we've seen phones go from being folding, to smartphones, to slowly getting larger and taller over the years, to the point where now people are jonesing for this simply so they can have a more compact phone again. I doubt for most usage you're going to use the inner screen at all, there's pretty limited potential there in what you're watching and doing. Watching a video is probably gonna hit you with omega black bars. Only way I see this making any sense is if you have a classic square to real phone clamshell design, GBA style rather than DS style, but that still doesn't make that much sense to me.

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[–] Spasmolytic@lemm.ee 10 points 11 months ago

Thank goodness. I'm sick of having a huge phone.

[–] SuperSecretThrowaway@lemmynsfw.com 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I'd love the idea, but graphene os support is my requirement.

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[–] Aurelius@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

Love to see more foldable options!

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