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?
For all the naysayers - I’ve wanted a fold since the S4 (2014ish) when Samsung demo’d two S4’s hinged together.
Being able to double screen real-estate when needed (eg having a tablet sometimes) but carrying it in a phone-sized device makes lots of sense.
And having double the physical space inside offers an opportunity for better heat management - if only to shift the battery to the other side (also means you can fit a physically larger battery).
Lots of potential, but also lots of hurdles to overcome. Unfortunately they’ve all focused on making the screen seamless first, rather than making the software seamless first.
I guess it also depends heavily on what/how you want to use it. Like, most of that stuff probably wouldn’t be of much if any benefit to me, but I can see that it clearly is to some people, whether that’s at work or just in general life.