102
What’s the point of folding phones? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 1 week ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
172 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Being the age I am, I’m just old enough to remember flip-phones.

A relatively simple concept that has been on my mind lately for reasons I’ll get to. Widely considered obsolete unless you just want a cheap phone to make calls etc., these phones featured a screen on one side, a keypad on the other, with a hinge joint between the two.

The reason that this device has been dragged back to the front of my brain in recent weeks is because I am reminded of them every time I see this:

To be clear: I’m aware that this foldable iphone is not the first foldable modern smartphone (I know Samsung released them years ago also).

But I’m also left wondering: what is the point? I think I can perfectly understand the use of flip phones as they were when they were popular, but foldable phones I just can’t see the benefit. As far as I can see, these foldable type of phones offer little to no benefit that you couldn’t get from, say a regular iPhone or Samsung phone, in terms of the consumer and how they are used in general life. I get that the hardware/software may be different, but that’s not going to be a factor in most people’s daily lives (you’re not going to care about the type of core, or the screen resolution when you make a phone call, etc.) It seems like it’s more of a gimmick from the companies making them to try and make more sales, but even if that’s the case, the product must have something unique to offer, so what is it about foldable phones that are so unique besides the gimmick of folding?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 111 points 1 week ago (51 children)

you’re not going to care about the type of core, or the screen resolution when you make a phone call...

It's not really a phone anymore. It's a portable pocket computer. Being able to unfold a larger screen makes sense for a portable pocket computer.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 51 child comments
    •
  • [–] 32 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (8 children)

    Yes, this is the answer and it's not that hard to understand.

    What is hard to understand is the value proposition. Flips are more expensive for a lower spec device, and they're very unreliable--they're still breaking alot; wouldn't expect more than 2 years out of one.

    For most people in the pocket computer market, their needs would be more economically served by a high end phone and a mid tablet, or a high end tablet and mid phone, both items having a naturally longer life than a flip, and will each be used less, and are individually replacable.

    All-in-all, flip phones are a fine concept, but at their price point and longevity, they don't make a ton of sense for most people. Just easier to carry a tablet or put up with the smaller screen.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 8 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    ...expensive for a lower spec device, and they’re very unreliable...

    We're all waiting to see what Apple brings out. Perhaps they have come up with a reliable design. Perhaps it will be junk. In any case I agree that the price is not justified for most people today even if it robust and reliable. Personally, I almost never by expensive phones as my use is not very demanding.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago (3 children)

    Flips are more expensive for a lower spec device

    The hell are you talking about? They tend to have roughly the same technical specs as their single-screen counterparts, with the only exception being the camera because of physics.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    First, I meant folds, not flips..

    Second, you are right; I had some old but also specific information I was misapplying.

    That said, it will always be true that you're paying more for the screen; if you want to pay the same price for a foldable, you're sacrificing on hardware..

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    That said, it will always be true that you're paying more for the screen

    Think of it this way, for a lot of people (myself included), a foldable serves as both a phone and a tablet. Most of the time a foldable is cheaper and more convenient than an equivalent phone and tablet combined.

    I personally used to use a tablet 2-3 days per week. But it would be super annoying because I wasn't using it often enough to charge it every night like my phone, so about half the time the battery would be dead or low. Because of that I often also had to carry a power bank and charge cable around with the tablet.

    Maybe you don't have a need to a tablet or you use one daily and don't have this problem. But for me a foldable is a really useful compromise

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago

    Yes, my original comment was agreeing that folds are pretty durn nifty.

    As for your price considerations, you are leaving out longevity. A regular phone and tablet will last you many times longer than a fold. In the long run, it will be cheaper to have both.

    I also specified that either the phone or the tablet be high spec. Just as you don't always need to have a big screen, you also don't always need to have the latest CPU and most RAM. Buying a high end tablet and a high end phone to replace a high end fold would be overkill.

    BTW - I had that same exact problem with my tablet, which I used maybe once a week. Every time I'd pick it up, it would be dead or almost dead. What's killing your battery is the radios--wifi, bluetooth or whatever. I used to have a program to automatically kill those things, but then Samsung killed access (which why I will never buy another Samsung tablet again). I started trying to remember to turn on Airplane mode, but that didn't turn off wifi for some reason. Then I tried remembering to turn it off. But how do you confirm a tablet is off without turning it on? Maddening.

    I'm using the tablet more frequently now, so it's not as bad, but I think its helped to leave Battery Saver on full time.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (1 child)

    For most people in the pocket computer market, their needs would be more economically served by a high end phone and a mid tablet, or a high end tablet and mid phone

    Which makes it frustrating that the tablet market is so tiny compared to the phone one. And many of them have worse specs than even entry-level smartphones (Samsung is still selling the S6 Lite, which has a paltry 4GB of RAM and can barely handle running a single heavy app without crashing).

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago*

    And Samsung is really quite awful in terms of locking down the OS, second only to Apple, which really has some really good tablets; though it is so damn annoying that the mini has such extreme hardware. It's like they KNOW that's the form factor people want, so they make it as expensive as possible.

    My daily drivers are a Pixel 7, a 10+ y-o gaming PC running linux, and a mid Galaxy Tab A, mostly for browsing. The Pixel downloads my torrents, and the gaming PC runs my media server and does some AI stuff.

    I think I'm happier having several mid-range devices that are adequate for the task they are put to than having fewer devices that are more capable.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 6 points 1 week ago

    That's the reason I got a folding phone. I picked up a used OG Puxel Fold for around $300, installed GrapheneOS, and installed Termux. Unfolds into a large enough screen to make desktop PC application use work well. I regularly code on it and have Qt Creator and VSCode always available. I wish I could put postmarketOS or some other real Linux OS on it, but the screen makes it more viable than my actual Linux OnePlus 6 for desktop application use. It fits in my pocket too, which tablets do not.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] -1 points 1 week ago (10 children)

    Except that the bigger screen doesn’t offer more usability. It’s not the same productivity boost you get from say adding a second monitor or higher resolution screen to a desktop. For the most part the difference between my iPad and iPhone is the layout not the functionality.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 10 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (9 children)

    I greatly disagree. If you do a significant amount of reading on your phone, it's really useful to be able to have the larger screen for a slightly larger font (while still scrolling less) and hold it further away from your face.

    Also, I've used the inner screen of my phone to have 2 separate apps running side-by-side, reading with one side and typing notes with the other, seamlessly. Just like I often do with a second/third monitor on a PC

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 9 child comments
    •
  • [–] -2 points 1 week ago (8 children)

    Okay but you are still just describing the layout and I could have two apps running side by side on my OG Note in like 2011.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 8 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (7 children)

    Except with the portability of a phone and screen real estate of a tablet.

    Why does this need to be explained so many goddamned times?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 7 child comments
    •
  • [–] -1 points 1 week ago (6 children)

    With a crease down the middle and reduced battery life, oh and it’s not actually as big as a tablet….

    Seriously… fuck off with the attitude.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (5 children)

    With a crease down the middle

    You've clearly never used a foldable.

    And you're the one going out of your way to shit on other people's tastse. Just let people get phones that fit their needs. It doesn't affect you, so why throw a temper tantrum? Grow the fuck up

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 0 points 6 days ago (4 children)

    I stated my opinion in a public forum. If that shits on your tastes then that is your problem. You are the one throwing a tantrum because somebody disagrees with you. You literally weren’t required to reply to my opinion that was your choice.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 0 points 6 days ago (3 children)

    I could have two apps running side by side on my OG Note in like 2011.

    Have you ever considered that you using this as an argument while ignoring the difference in screen real estate (which drastically improves usefulness in this case) is you being obviously obtuse?

    You're the one who started with the snark. Deal with it.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] 0 points 6 days ago* (2 children)

    I could say the same thing about your comment that was in response to. If you are assigning an emotion to text then you are the problem, deal with it.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [+] [S] -10 points 1 week ago* (29 children)

    But if someone could simply buy a bigger phone that fits well in the pocket and is comfortable to carry around, that’s also cheaper and can do pretty much everything the foldable one can do in terms of function (which you can buy) why would you pay extra for one that folds, just because it folds?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 29 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago

    The size of screen you get from folding phones is on par with a small tablet and doesn't come close to fitting in pockets. And even if you could get a pocket that it could fit in, it'd be u comfortable at best and likely to be broken at worst. Folding phones get around both of those problems.

    Having a folding phone is more like having a tablet with you all the time, except without the hassle of carrying an extra device around.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent