I got to buy a flip and a fold for QA purposes for work. I test drove them for a few days before handing them over.
I daily drive an s24 ultra so I’m a fan of big phones already.
The use case for the fold is for anything where you would rather have a tablet. Some people would rather consume media on a bigger device. The real downside to me with the fold was the thickness while folded. It was uncomfortably thick in my pocket. And then of course there’s the inability to have any decent protection on the phone, and the lack of water resistance.
Now the flip on the other hand, I really enjoyed that device. It opened up to the same size as a decently large phone, you could fold it up and throw it in your pocket, It was protected.
They’re both too damn expensive. You could buy the biggest baddest flagship phones with the most beautiful screens and cameras for the same price as something that just folds up a little smaller in your pocket.
I love it and would hate to go back. You have a normal sized phone that can make various otherwise awkward activities on small factor quite comfortable unfolded: note taking, film watching, reading, Internet in general.
It is so good to be able to whip this out anytime, anywhere.
It literally replaced 3 other devices for me that I used to drag around to cafes, work and when travelling.
I considered this overpriced bs until I got to try my friends device. Now I just consider it overpriced.
Would you say the technology is developed far enough?
I’m definitely interested, as the phone screen size is often a bit too small. But any mechanical movement makes me nervous on a small device that should last multiple years.
Z Fold 4 going 2 years - the hinge on this can fail early, but fold 5 should be solid and can be found £600 refurbished.
Samsung warranty is notoriously bad though, so can’t recommend for that reason (no personal experience).
For me it would be to have a single device that could work as both a phone and tablet, so compact when folded for portability while having the option for using a big screen when needed.
The only usecase for foldables that made sense is that since phones keep on getting bigger, so having a foldable phone would save some pocket space.
However, I think phones stopped growing after 6" and foldable phones have been considerably more expensive. People are just more comfortable with a normal “slab” phone.
@xavier666@Mandy I’ve got small hands and it’s *really* difficult to find a smartphone I can use one handed. I looked at foldables for that reason but the added thickness means my ancient Xperia compact is still better I think.
Never understood the reason of foldable smartphones, like what was their intended usecase?
I got to buy a flip and a fold for QA purposes for work. I test drove them for a few days before handing them over.
I daily drive an s24 ultra so I’m a fan of big phones already.
The use case for the fold is for anything where you would rather have a tablet. Some people would rather consume media on a bigger device. The real downside to me with the fold was the thickness while folded. It was uncomfortably thick in my pocket. And then of course there’s the inability to have any decent protection on the phone, and the lack of water resistance.
Now the flip on the other hand, I really enjoyed that device. It opened up to the same size as a decently large phone, you could fold it up and throw it in your pocket, It was protected.
They’re both too damn expensive. You could buy the biggest baddest flagship phones with the most beautiful screens and cameras for the same price as something that just folds up a little smaller in your pocket.
They look flash as heck.
I love it and would hate to go back. You have a normal sized phone that can make various otherwise awkward activities on small factor quite comfortable unfolded: note taking, film watching, reading, Internet in general.
It is so good to be able to whip this out anytime, anywhere.
It literally replaced 3 other devices for me that I used to drag around to cafes, work and when travelling.
I considered this overpriced bs until I got to try my friends device. Now I just consider it overpriced.
Would you say the technology is developed far enough?
I’m definitely interested, as the phone screen size is often a bit too small. But any mechanical movement makes me nervous on a small device that should last multiple years.
Hinge durability is the main concern.
I would not buy in yet unless you plan to upgrade every ~2 years.
Make sure the manufacturers warranty is solid.
Software-wise, I’ve not had any issues whatsoever.
I’ve definitely been interested in one. What foldable device do you have? And which three devices did it replace?
Z Fold 4 going 2 years - the hinge on this can fail early, but fold 5 should be solid and can be found £600 refurbished.
Samsung warranty is notoriously bad though, so can’t recommend for that reason (no personal experience).
For me it would be to have a single device that could work as both a phone and tablet, so compact when folded for portability while having the option for using a big screen when needed.
The only usecase for foldables that made sense is that since phones keep on getting bigger, so having a foldable phone would save some pocket space. However, I think phones stopped growing after 6" and foldable phones have been considerably more expensive. People are just more comfortable with a normal “slab” phone.
@xavier666 @Mandy I’ve got small hands and it’s *really* difficult to find a smartphone I can use one handed. I looked at foldables for that reason but the added thickness means my ancient Xperia compact is still better I think.