Smartphone manufacturers still want to make foldables a thing

Comments

• henfredemars@infosec.pub ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I love the foldable idea, but it’s well beyond what I’m willing to pay for the novelty.

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  • DharmaCurious@startrek.website ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Same! I had the LG v60 dual screen case, and loved it. Thats the farthest I’m willing to go, though. It was unwieldy, and almost impossible to use a popsocket with, no way to use a wallet case, et cetera. It’s not worth that price tag for less options just for the occasional use of a bigger screen.

    Now, foldable tablet? That’s something I’d be down for (in theory. I am poor.). Closes up small enough for a pocket, folds out when you use it. Only screen on one side, so it can tossed in a bag without worrying about it, because it’s closed up and the screen is protected.

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    • Sky_Lobster@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      My galaxy fold is 100% a foldable tablet with a pen. When I travel for work, I’ve stopped bringing my laptop. Just the fold, Bluetooth keyboard, and mouse. It’s amazing

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    • WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      So…a touchscreen laptop?

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  • jonne@infosec.pub ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Yeah, the flip phones especially seem like a good form factor if they can make the price go down.

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    • bdonvr@thelemmy.club ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      They already have. I think the Razr can be had at a reasonable price.

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  • neonspool@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    as with all technology though, as they become more accessible with newer models being made and other companies making foldables, the price for the same kind of quality product we have today will inevitably be less in the future.

    this is already happening with cpu performance, display quality, etc… it’s finally very affordable to get a 120 hz phone with a fantastic display and snappy processor, specifically thinking of something like the Galaxy A54 or Pixel 8 (on a sale)

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• Sky_Lobster@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I’ve been daily driving a folding phone for about 3 years now, and honest to God I’ll never buy a normal phone again. It’s a laptop, tablet, phone, and notepad (stylus) all in one. I couldn’t imagine going back.

  Also, being able to open two full screen apps side by side becomes essential after you start to rely on it for work.

  I get that they are expensive, but the price will come down eventually and the form factor is game changing from a usability perspective.

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  • helenslunch@feddit.nl ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    It’s a laptop, tablet, phone, and notepad

    Has no keyboard, mouse or touchpad so it’s not a laptop

    Too small to be a tablet or a Notepad.

    Too big to be a phone.

    Not saying you’re wrong. To each their own. Just my 2 cents.

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    • CybranM@feddit.nu ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I’ve never tried a folding phone but to me it seems like a jack of all trades, master of none. The 4:3 aspect ratio, black bars on basically all videos, and easily damaged screen seem like big negatives.

      I’d be interested to see if I’m wrong if I ever get a chance to use one.

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    • jmp242@sopuli.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Yea, the ability to replace a laptop for work is wildly dependent on the work you do. I need Windows or Linux and a keyboard and trackpad or mouse to even attempt to do my job. And it’s much easier with a desktop with lots of RAM and a 24" or larger monitor. Someone else I know rocks a laptop as a daily driver, but it needs to be docked, with 3 monitors to be fully useful.

      If you don’t need programs that need a desktop OS (well written web apps only) and only need apps or say Zoom (and no real use of zoom chat or virtual backgrounds etc) then I can see a tablet working.

      It’s a laptop, tablet, phone, and notepad The fact you can get all four of those for about the cost of one folding phone if you’re ok with off brands or slightly used really hurts the thing too.

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    • Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Android runs almost all USB keyboards and mice or touch pads, you can totally have that as an option for your phone. And it’s like 50 bucks to get a powered hub that can also charge the phone OTG while connecting all those USB devices at once.

      It is the same size as as the common smaller form factor tablets have been for a decade. And note pads also have been coming in this size for over a century.

      It is smaller than the average phone when folded into phone mode. Especially if we are not only talking smart phones, but even if.

      They are indeed relatively more expensive right now, I got mine “open box” for half off, and it was about the price of a contemporary regular smart phone then. But they won’t always be this much more expensive.

      You are not always near your 75 inch TV. It’s nice to have an acceptable option when out and about. Fold 4 also has spacial audio, you get your head about a foot away from those speakers in horizontal tablet mode, and boom, the virtual surround sound is surprising. (Anyone who has one and hasn’t tried it yet, take this moment to try it out then come back) (it’s pretty crazy, right?)

      It is what we claim it is. Just my 2 cents. I hope eventually the price gets to a place where more people can choose it without having to worry about whether they can justify it.

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  • vonbaronhans@midwest.social ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I feel like I’d feel similarly if I had a foldable, but the one guy I know who has one swears he’ll never buy one again. Granted, he got a gen 1 Galaxy Fold, so it’s got some major growing pains.

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    • Sky_Lobster@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      For what it’s worth, I decided to skip the fold 1 because of all the complaints about the sensitivity of the screen and how easy it was to break. I’ve been running the fold 3, and now the fold 5, and it’s been a tank, even with my two and four-year-old drawing on it using the stylist all the time. I think the newest versions have come a long way since the first version

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    • EddieTee77@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I am also waiting to get one for my next phone. I’m hoping when I’m ready to upgrade things will be more durable. As someone who’s loved the Note series since my Note 2 I had, I’m a sucker for a bigger screen. I’ll probably never go back

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• dragnet@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Once they are cheaper and more durable I’ll buy one. Its still a new form factor that hasn’t been perfected yet, but that doesn’t mean its wrong for manufacturers to keep at it

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  • BallShapedMan@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    To add to this my wife got the Samsung Flip or whatever, the one that folds like an old flip phone.

    Every year she’s had to have it replaced because the screen cracks in the middle. Fortunately we have the insurance so it’s only $5 to replace it. She just got her third phone this week.

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    • Thade780@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Your wife must be doing something wrong. My Fold 3 has been pristine without a case since I purchased it on day one.

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    • FreshLight@sh.itjust.works ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Yes! This! (For now) foldable phones are not a good idea imo. The consumers are using it casually and a lot of designers tend to forget that. It’s not about how it is intended to be used but how the majority is using it. Same with the stylus and the Note 5 in 2015. People inserted the pen backwards and broke the phone. Is it supposed to go in backwards? No. Will people do it accidentally if they are using the phone on a daily bases? Yes. It seems as if the durability tests aren’t adapted enough for new features.

      Until phones with a foldable screen are robust enough for the average Joe(-anne) to use, I will not consider buying one, even though the concept seems very useful.

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    • Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Wait, the screen cracks? Or the screen protector? The protectors are known to crack in about a year, but those are cheap and easy to replace, or if you aren’t worried about scratches, just peel it off when it cracks and don’t replace it, screens feel much nicer without the protectors.

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    • AdaleiM@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I had that issue with mine, turns out there’s a screen protector on the screen when you get it. once I peeled it off I was good as new, although now the screen itself is starting to wear.

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  • jmp242@sopuli.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Honestly, unless they come out unlocked for like sub $300 I’m unlikely to want to get one as I have had no problem using sub $300 new phones for 4 years now. And no interest in spending more for a tablet - I’ve gotten tablets for sub $250 for like 8 years now and they are good for my needs.

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    • danielbln@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Unless I can get it used for 20 bucks and a handy thrown in, NO SALE. Like hombre, you’re not the target market for any of this.

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  • theterrasque@infosec.pub ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I’m waiting for them to find a better spot on durability, weight /bulkiness and hardware like cameras.

    They’re still too big and bulky for me, the other components are usually a bit behind, and the screen durability seems a bit too eeh still.

    Which is to say, I’m interested in one, but they’re not there yet for me.

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• eddanja@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Well then maybe don’t charge me 3 months’ rent for one?

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  • Blackmist@feddit.uk ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    But that’s why they want foldable phones to be a thing.

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    • GladiusB@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      And why the market took a dive. Phones were 200-300. Then the iPhones and Galaxy’s jumped them to 500-700. Now any top tier is 1000 plus and people’s income has not compensated. As well as the rest of the crap you need to have all those new phones.

      They are completely out of touch with normal everyday working people’s incomes and financial needs.

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  • KeefChief13@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    [deleted]

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    • ReplicatedSoda@startrek.website ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      That wasn’t free. You’re still paying for it.

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    • RippleEffect@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Yeah but don’t you pay a good bit monthly for the privilege?

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• Phen@lemmy.eco.br ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I wish they would put a proper keyboard on a phone again. There’s dozens of people like me who misses those things, why is nobody doing it?

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  • ShepherdPie@midwest.social ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Totally agree. The smartphone market is wayyy to homogenous. All they compete over is price and what alphanumeric digits the chips contain. Give us foldables, sliders, cheap phones, high end phones, phones full of ports, small phones, and big phones. This is what the phone market used to be about until the mid '10s

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    • Dempf@lemmy.zip ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      And what about phones with a removable battery? Would be real nice to keep a couple spares instead of a big power brick I have to charge it from.

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  • nutsack@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    no i love it when my gboard cache fills up or whatever and the typing is so laggy that only 60% of my key presses register and i have to do it really slowly i think it’s good

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    • Tangent5280@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      have you considered a FOSS keyboard? For me, autocorrect is annoying and there is no swiping, but in like 3 weeks you’ll get good enough at typing you’ll need neither.

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  • dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    dozens of people

    Including me I guess that makes thirteen of us now.

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    • Decoy321@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      dozens

      That makes you number 25

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  • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I’m sure even fewer people want the thing I want back: a scroll wheel a la Blackberrys from the '00s. Those things were incredibly accurate and allowed pixel-specific pointing, something that you just don’t get from a touchscreen.

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  • dustyData@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    The same reason for the small phone form factor, the 3.5mm headphone jack, and the replaceable battery disappearance. All extraordinary ideas that I would personally would like to still be a thing for the sake of providing variety and choice to all customers. There’s a vocal minority that constantly asks and demands those features. But when manufacturers make and sell them, they only move a few thousand units in contrasts to the several hundred millions of sales for the traditional models. Because conceptually they might be good sensible ideas, but on a practical sense, they aren’t the main priority of the vast majority.

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  • Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Why for. ? Maybe what would be better is a VR keyboard. If it can give haptic feedback then do you really need a physical board

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    • jmp242@sopuli.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      The issue is I can touch type / hunt and peck with a physical keyboard, and I never accidentally type something by brushing my finger on the key as I pass. It’s just much faster.

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• Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I’m on a Fold 4, never going back. There are certainly a few tweaks here and there that could improve it, but a tablet that you put back in your pocket when you are done is the perfect phone so far. I don’t know what they would have to do to make something better than this, but I’m sure something will come along. Until then, not going back to a phone that can only be bar shaped.

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  • Plopp@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    What do people use tablets for? I really wanted to come up with an excuse to get one but no matter how hard I thought about it I couldn’t come up with a use case (for me at least). I want my phone to be smaller, not bigger.

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    • Strayce@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I’m studying at the moment, so I do a -lot- of research. A tablet + stylus is perfect for me for taking notes on top of lecture slides and reading / annotating pdfs. A folding form factor would be really useful for me, so I wouldn’t have to carry around a second device.

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    • viking@infosec.pub ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      The only advantage I see are movies, but then again for a static display I can just use my laptop or a TV.

      I guess gaming could be something, if you’re into that. Personally all those microtransaction BS makes me steer clear of wanting any games on my phone.

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    • Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      For me it was mainly gaming. Can run two full apps, both in real time, not that thing where it suspends one with a static image when you touch the other one. They both actually run at the same time, full frame rate. The fold 4 in tablet mode “wide” screen is pretty close to 4:3, so it’s nice for emulating console and computer games from that era, which I do alot. And the tablet in tall mode is a great size/shape for reading, can even leave it slightly folded down the middle for the real book feel, lol. And the battery life they manage to pack into both halves of the phone is pretty great. But most importantly, putting it back in my pocket when not using it. Carrying even a small tablet around all day would not be awesome otherwise.

      I should mention I am 6’4" with relatively large hands, so fold 4 still feels pretty small to me, before I got the handle case I had to make due with palming it when I wanted to hold it one-handed. It’s decently comfortable for me to palm it in vertical tablet mode, but horizontal tablet mode while still possible, wasn’t comfortable. But with the handle case, it would be comfortable for almost anyone to hold it with one hand.

      One of the things I was most worried about was that the screen crease would be visible, or that it would get annoying to play games where you gotta move your finger accross it. Luckily, the crease isn’t visible when you are straight head-on with the screen, only when you try to show other people stuff on your phone, lol. And even after more than a year of not treating the phone as anything special, the crease isn’t annoying to my fingers either. The original built-in screen protector did peel off from folding the phone alot when it was cold out(Canada), but I normally don’t use screen protectors, so I just left it unprotected. Not really sure what you have to do to your phone to benefit from screen protectors, I don’t baby mine, but I’ve never had a scratch. And screen protectors just feel so much worse to use than the naked screen does.

      Might be a good time to mention I am autistic and hypersensory, so there is nothing mild about mildly annoying things to me, lol.

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    • jmp242@sopuli.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I have 2 uses for a tablet, and know 2 other uses. They’re pretty niche.

      1. you can use it to get AT&T to sell you an unlimited 5g data sim for $20 a month and pop that into a hotspot if you need to work while being driven in a car or in more locations than there’s necessarily easy or cheap wifi.

      2. Reading Manga / Comics. I do read some on my phone, but the ability to see the “full page” on a 6.7" phone aspect narrow screen vs a 10" wider aspect tablet screen is surprisingly large, and my eyes are getting worse, not better as I age. Teeny tiny is not the best experience.

      3. Using them as cheaper wacom tablets for drawing / artists.

      4. Work provided portable tools for all sorts of stuff that doesn’t have any SIM or monthly fee needed / requested, and something that inherently isn’t a phone.

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    • ShepherdPie@midwest.social ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I thought the same but they’re great for using at home. My wife watches movies on it in the kitchen, my kid loves it for games, I like it for controlling house stuff like IoT, smart home stuff, and apps for home electronics. It’s not top different from smart watches where you don’t need anything it offers, but it makes things more convenient.

      Now the people who take their tablet to Disneyland to take pictures are just plain crazy and shouldn’t be lumped in with the rest of us.

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    • Phen@lemmy.eco.br ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Tablets are much better than phones at trying to do things that are meant to be done in a full computer, while being much more more portable than computers. It’ll never be as good as PCs but to some people that’s not a big price to pay for the portability.

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    • Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Same. It seems to fall into the niche crack.

      Maybe to watch things if you don’t have a tv. Maybe to play games again without tv. Portable if you move around a lot.

      I can’t justify the price for a large screen. I have a larger screen. It’s the tv. I have a work laptop and I have a phone.

      If anything I’d be pushing for work laptop to disappear. If I could get a virtual computer. I just need a screen to use. Already got a monitor plus wireless keyboard and mouse.

      Virtue desktops should be the future

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• 000@fuck.markets ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I don’t give a flying fuck about foldable screens, give me a real keyboard. The bottom half of one of these flippable screens could totally fit rows of physical buttons!

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  • Patches@sh.itjust.works ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    That’s just Flip Phones with more steps.

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  • Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    We have come full circle to what smartphones we’re like 10 years ago.

    …yahoo.com/top-smartphones-qwerty-keypad-15255700…

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  • restingboredface@sh.itjust.works ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Omg I can’t agree with this strongly enough. Just typing this comment I’ve had to manually correct multiple typos because even with haptic feedback and autocorrect I still end up with totally garbled text. I have never been able to get the hang of typing on a touch screen. Im still pining for the good old days of blackberries and slide out keyboards.

    Hell, even a built in stylus like the galaxy note had would be a welcome fix to constantly fumbling with whatever keyboard I’m trying to make work at the moment.

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• AMillionMonkeys@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I’ll trade you my 3D TV for one.

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  • dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Hey, old 3D TV’s are great…

    …As computer monitors. Lots of PC games can be bullied into displaying stereoscopic 3D in one way or other.

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  • ShepherdPie@midwest.social ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I’ll trade you two Betamax, an HD-DVD player, and one 8-track of PeeWee Herman performing “Tequila” for your 3D TV.

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    • dutchkimble@lemy.lol ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      If I had a 3d tv I’d happily do this deal

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• jezebelley3d@lemmy.zip ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I have a Pixel Fold and I hate it. It’s heavy, almost no third party apps are compatible with the square aspect ratio of the inner screen, and when you consume media there are massive black borders due to said aspect ratio that makes the viewable space the same as a regular phone. There’s literally no point to these things.

  I see why Apple never jumped on board. I can’t wait until August when I can get rid of this damn phone.

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  • RedAggroBest@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Meanwhile my dad can’t get enough of his Zflip or whatever the smaller one is. Even with the screen starting to wear in the middle, it’s lasted longer than his other phones because the folding means it doesn’t get banged around.

    Same goes with mentions of physical keyboards, all I get is flashbacks of my dad angry that his sausage fingers (tilesetter) can’t hit the buttons before touchscreen keyboards with bigger buttons hit.

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  • Pulptastic@midwest.social ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    How about a phone that unfolds to 2.39:1 ratio such as 2.95*7.05 and folds to roughly half that.

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• KeefChief13@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I’ve been using the z flip 4 for over a year now. I think that is what it’s called… I won’t go back. The foldable phone is awesome.

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  • chiliedogg@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    I’ve got my Fold 3 and it’s amazing. Are there compromises? Absolutely. Are they worth it, also yes.

    I’ve always been the type to upgrade my phone every year, but I’m thoroughly satisfied with this device after 2 years, and don’t see myself replacing it anytime soon.

    The biggest thing foldables need now isn’t new features and spec bumps. What they need is a significant price cut.

    Full-size foldable phones still costing $1800 5 years in is why they’re such a tiny market share.

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  • dutchkimble@lemy.lol ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Agree, it’s hard to imagine not having a fold after using it for a bit

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  • piecat@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    What’s holding me back is that I’m worried the fold line would be too distracting, or would get worse over time.

    I also love my s23 pen

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    • KeefChief13@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      That’s what I thought originally, but the fold is not noticeable at all when you look square at it, as far as how it feels to move your finger over it, it feels like a small tactile bump. Feels nice actually. I use a membrane screen protector and foldable case with no issues, over the last year there has been no degradation of the “crease” or the folding mechanism.

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• mlg@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Man I just want a FOSS version of the DS.

  Clamshell dual screen has so many advantages.

  Even sliding keyboard was great

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  • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Clamshell dual screen is the bomb. I don’t know why they’re jumping so many hoops just to avoid a fucking bezel gutter.

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  • Alpha71@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    SOMEONE never heard of the Surface Duo…

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  • SomeSphinx@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    That would the coolest shit imaginable. I’m surprised nobody has tried making a FOSS ecosystem for the DS, considering how often users have hacked it. All I’m saying is, I wish a company would come alone and make a DS like system with modern resolution and cameras. It might do pretty well.

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• ramjambamalam@lemmy.ca ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I love my flip phone. I’d love a phone with a hardware keyboard even more, but at least a folding flip phone is interesting in a sea of rectangles.

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  • RippleEffect@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Having more mainstream keyboard options would be nice to have.

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• tmjaea@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Thinking of that one guy that lost their foldable to a grain of salt after eating something in the train while watching a movie on it and then closing the phone… I hope they never get a real thing

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• NickwithaC@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I still haven’t seen a legitimate use case for a flip phone that is 100% screen on the inside.

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• AeonFelis@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  This article seems to only talk about the ones that fold like a book, and not on the ones that fold like a clam. I don’t get the fixtation on that design - at this point it’s more of a tablet than a phone, and for a tablet it’s pretty small. When opened, the Samsung Z Flip has the dimensions of a smartphone - which means you can put it to your ear or operate it with one hand. You can’t do that with the Z Fold - it’s too wide. Also, the Samsung Z Flip costs half as much as the Z Fold - which is still not cheap, but it’s not that much more expensive than Samsung’s regular flagship phone with the same specs. So I assume affordable flip smartphones should be possible - maybe not this year, but probably soon enough.

  Z Flips sell twice as much as Z Folds - all while Samsung is spending most of the marketing effort on pushing the Fold. Maybe if they focused on the Flip instead they could have made this one “a thing”?

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• ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  You can take my foldable out of my cold dead hands!

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• Jumi@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I just want a phone without a front camera

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• GlitterInfection@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Foldable phones are so fetch!

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• SuperSpruce@lemmy.zip ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I think foldables have found a niche market at the moment. People buy them, just not in the quantities the companies might want.

  The main reasons for this are Samsung being stagnant on its innovation with foldables (Z flip 5 notwithstanding), much of the competition being limited to China only or aren’t being marketed at all, and the book style foldables all being overpriced (they still MSRP for $1700-$1800 plus 1000% storage markups, they should be aiming for a $1200-$1300 MSRP).

  Here in the US, we have:

  The usual Samsung foldables: The Z flip 5 which is a great device at on okay price, and I’ve seen a few of these (or the previous gens), notable because 85% of the devices I see are iPhones. The Z Fold 5 is stagnant and overpriced.

  Pixel Fold: Hahahahaha it can’t even last a week before the screen dies lol lol haha

  Moto Razr Flip 40 and its variations: Nobody knows that these phones exist, and the ones who do struggle to even find a place to buy the phone. On Amazon listing for the US version is blended with the international listings and is often out of stock, and Motorola’s website gives me an error when I try to get to the buying process on its phones. Also there’s like 3 different versions of this phone Real shame, because they are good phones for a great price if you can stomach the poor battery life.

  OnePlus Open: Possibly the most innovative phone of 2023, this phone 1-ups the Z Fold line in nearly every way, although it’s still pricey. But again, basically nobody has even heard of this brand, much less this phone. They just believe Samsung is the only one that makes foldables while they choose to buy the latest iPhone.

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• SinningStromgald@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I do not like foldable I do not like them not one bit.

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• PrivateNoob@sopuli.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I’m willing to buy one if:

  • Main screen will be harder than LVL 2-3
  • Have better battery life
  • Cheaper

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• runjun@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Anyone who is interested in a foldable. Check eBay or Swappa. I was really surprised to find them 2nd hand for like 600-800. Which is crazy considering how much they sell for new.

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• Fiivemacs@lemmy.ca ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I hope all these big companies pump billions into this tech and lose it all.

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• thoughtorgan@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I loved my z fold 3. Took too many falls and the inside screen had it. Would happily get another if they weren’t so expensive.

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• not_woody_shaw@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  My current phone is now well over two years old, and is desperately NOT in need of an upgrade. I can’t imagine replacing it with anything but a book style foldable. Anything else just wouldn’t feel like an upgrade. I’m just waiting for the prices to get sensible.

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• rizoid@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I love the idea of big screen foldables. They are just way too expensive for me to justify. I’ve used the one plus open and man I really wish I could afford it. I do a lot of my mobile computing on my phone instead of a laptop and the foldables make it much more enjoyable.

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• khab@feddit.nu ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  They’ll catch on and become highly desirable approximately 1 minute after Apple makes one.

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• Sanctus@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  I love my foldable, but I got lucky and thats why I was able to buy it. They are way too expensive and my fucken singer in my highschool band showed me a bendable screen way back then like 10 years ago. Shit is supposed to get cheaper, thats what keeps this death machine running.

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• Shdwdrgn@mander.xyz ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Saw this on mastodon yesterday and it got me to thinking… Does anyone know of a dual-screen phone (not the foldable style discussed here) that has something smaller like 4" screens? The only models I found had either a 2.5" or 6" screen, neither of which would work for me. I prefer something that can fit in my pocket and a dual screen might be a nice solution for me since a keyboard in landscape mode takes up so much of the screen.

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• Wanderer@lemm.ee ⁨10⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  In a few years apple will realise one, act like they invented it. The fanboys will pay whatever price apple is selling it for and foldables will be mainstream.

  Apple products aren’t that good but their marketing is second to none.

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