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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.

aquinteros ,

expensive, and not worth the change from regular phones

001100010010 , (edited )
@001100010010@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Never used a foldable phone. Looks cool, but too bad its not dust resistant and the curved display is very weak against scratches. A hinge in a phone just further shorten it’s lifespan. I wouldn’t use them until it’s not only water-resistant, but also dust proof, and the hinge better outlast the lifespan of the rest of the phone. Considering the high price and also comes with so much drawbacks, they aren’t for the average person. It’s a rich person’s toy.

szczuroarturo ,

Honestly im considering buying one Just for the gimkick factor alone. I do like phones that have some gimmick. About the actual usefulness of said gimmick. Well i bought note once for the gimmick alone. Have i ever used the pencil. Only for solving nonograms. Nothing more. Folding phones gimmick on the other hand seems to be way better than the note gimkick, particualry the fold series, flips are questionable alghtough arguably they Look more cool. But the durability of both seems sketchy at Best, especialy since my notę 4 is still used in my family by my grandma and it still feels snapy to use.

So would i buy one. Not really. The thing with my old note 4 was that i managed to buy it used for a very reasonable price and im not sure i would touch used folding phone with a 3 feet pole, and a full priced 1000$ phones are a scam as far as i am concerned. If you want fun gimmick i Would honestly recomend rog phone 6 instead ( cool, should be reasonably priced, fun aestethic ) or a hopefully soon to be fairphone 5 (i never thought i would call removable battery a gimmick but here we are in 2023) . But If you swim in money by any means buy a flip or fold,why not.

lorkano ,

Flip phones have only one advantage - they are smaller in the pocket. Folds have advantage of turning into mini tablets, but huge downsides of battery life in this mode, and thickness in the pocket. Maybe in the future, if they manage to make them even thinner.

MyNameIsIgglePiggle ,

Too breaky

toasteranimation ,
@toasteranimation@lemmy.world avatar

Like ‘fetch’ they’re never going to happen

Kuma ,
@Kuma@lemmy.world avatar

If the price was max $1k, folding vertically and not a Samsung then I would get it. I got my self a tablet because I read and watch YouTube a lot. I rather have one device than two. So when I saw the new pixel did I get hyped then I saw the price…

MargotRobbie OP ,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

Maybe the Moto Razr+ is right for you…

Get the magenta one, of course!

Kuma ,
@Kuma@lemmy.world avatar

Thanks for the reply! I checked it out. Sadly it folds horizontal so it doesn’t get as big as a tablet :( but thanks for the tip! I didn’t know moto was trying out the folding trend too!

Malisu19997 ,

As someone who Had a Nintendo DS and 3DS it certainly seems like a cool idea but they also had the problem of the hinges breaking rendering them useless, this is much worse on the folding phones where the display itself bends in half and can literally wear out just from opening and closing, rendering the phone next to useless, the DS handheld gaming systems didn’t even have that problem.

For that reason I really don’t like them and can’t really get behind them. I prefer my devices to last to obsolescence (a ripe old age) and be durable, folding screen phones are not that whatsoever. If I wanted a bigger screen I’d rather just have a bigger phone honestly, or be able to dock it in a laptop like enclosure.

CantSt0pPoppin ,
@CantSt0pPoppin@lemmy.world avatar

I too can confirm this. I own the LE Ruby Red DS and the hinge on the right side failed. It lasted for quite some time but the stress factor was inevitable. I don’t think the hinge it’s self-failed but the plastic around it, if that makes any sense. I do hope that there is a return to folding phones only if for reducing the size of carrying around basically a tablet in your pocket. I currently have a s20/21 fe and the screen while nice, spacious and crisp is quite big for pockets.

Malisu19997 ,

Yeah it’s the plastic around the hinge that breaks on the DS, it was much worse on the originals than on the DS lites.

The biggest issue with the folding phones though is that folding the screen in half is going to cause wear and tear on the display and it makes it easier for it to break along the seam. Only way I could see a folding phone working is if it had two separate screens like a DS/3DS.

I don’t have an issue with phones being too big for pockets since I have plenty of room in my pockets, even for relatively large phones.

chloyster ,

I love the idea of them but not at that price point unfortunately

bet ,

I’d love one. Preferably the opens-like-a-book style, not the vertical ribbon.

But I don’t want to carry around something that costs that much. They’re currently priced for someone with way more money.

miku ,

I use the Fold 4 and I love it. I don’t think I could ever go back to using a nonfoldable. I never notice the crease during use unless I run my finger across it. In terms of durability, it’s been great. I dropped my phone many times onto concrete and no issues at all. The only problem I have is with the screen protector for the folding screen. Mine is already peeling after around a year of use and it’s a pain to get it replaced. You can’t really do it yourself and you need to make an appointment at a repair shop to do it. At least it’s free.

IGuessThisIsForNSFW ,

(Context I uses to repair phones for everyone’s favorite insurance company Asurion, so my perspective is more about the physical device and components)

I fucking hate them. Super fragile AND super expensive. Not to mention if you have one and the screen protector get damaged manufacturers warranty only covers 1 replacement. Fixing that inner screen out of pocket is around $600-$700 which at that point is just buying an entirely new note or S-series phone. The only nice thing I can say is that the 4 Gen flips and folds are a bit sturdier than the first generation, so they are improving over time. Maybe by the fold 7 it will be in a place where consumers can buy and repair them for reasonable prices, but right now I always advise people to stay away.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA ,
@HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world avatar

I’m skeptical how well the screen holds up at the hinge, so I guess I’m not an early adopter. Show me one a year old that’s had the same cheap screen protector on the entire time - if it still looks good I might consider it. Otherwise I don’t see a reason to upgrade.

Mr_Dr_Oink ,

I guess that would be my fold 3.

Theres alot of people here that dont have a folding phone but do have alot of strong opinions about them.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA ,
@HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world avatar

Heh. I don’t have a particularly strong opinion, but that’s because I carry a purse everywhere. I don’t need a foldy phone. My “pocket” can hold three bottles of wine so y’know (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖). It doesn’t matter all that much to me if these have a crease or line or divot or whatever jargon y’all are calling it. I think the last time I looked at a foldy phone ad was, um, 2021. No, it may have been 2019. It’s been a hot minute is all. I just think they’re cool newish tech.

It seems to me that the hinge would be a common point of failure and that the screen might get misaligned after a million flexes, but I haven’t actually handled one to see how they’re built. I really want to take one apart. That would be fun.

Mr_Dr_Oink ,

To be fair. I know i replied to your comment but i wasnt specifically aiming that at you. I apologise.

A guy on yourube “jerryrigeverything” does a grwat durability test and teardown of all the foldy phones including the fold 3. I recommend it. The hinge suprisingly is one of the strongest points on these phones.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA ,
@HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world avatar

Oh nothing to apologize for. I figured I should probably elaborate. Thanks for the tip on the video, tho. Those look fun to watch.

MeanEYE ,
@MeanEYE@lemmy.world avatar

I have Fold4 since release. No screen protectors anywhere, I don’t use those. Device is good as new. But I would agree, it’s not a device for everyone and justifying such high price is difficult. I decided to try replacing laptop and phone, with a foldable. So far it’s a good compromise but foldable devices do have their own share of problems, mostly in form of accessories and bicycle mounts.

Hazdaz ,

As with a lot of the negatives (including price), they will improve as time goes on,but to a large degree I see foldable as a fun engineering exercise to look at, but mostly pointless for the time being. I especially find it ridiculous when a foldable is 2x as thick as a regular phone and reviewers act like it’s magically half the size when you close it. You’re sacrificing height for thickness, but the volume is almost the exact same as a regular device.

As someone who loves the large screen of my tablet, I like the idea of a foldable, but they are a long way away from mass adoption.

st33fo ,
@st33fo@lemmy.world avatar

I want to try a flip style foldable. Maybe moto or Samsung’s (good moto trade in when🙃). It’s been a while since I’ve seen a phone and go damn, that’s eye candy. There’ll probably be funky quirks no doubt, but a modern flip phone just looks awesome.

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