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Smartphone manufacturers still want to make foldables a thing
(arstechnica.com)
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this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2023
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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.
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.
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.
I'm a programmer and I need three screens to work effectively (otherwise I get into 8+ virtual desktops). However, I'm using a Minisforum UM790 Pro and not a laptop, because what’s the point in having another screen I don’t use and a keyboard that’s awful.
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.
I just use a normal phone (Pixel 7a)
For media consumption and stuff I have a rooted Lenovo Tab M9 running a LineageOS GSI
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.
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
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