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Huawei launches $3,660 trifold phone
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- FirmwareBurner 2y agoHuawei: "Here's a compact phone that unfolds into a large tablet just like in sci-fi movies, so you can multitask and consume content." Samsung and Apple: "Here's the exact same phone as last 3 generations with just a chip update and a price increase. Did we mention it has more AI now whether you want it or not?" See what the ban on Huawei accomplished? Complacency and stagnation due to lack of competition among western aligned companies. I foresee this is what will happen in the EV sector as well.
- scarface_74 2y agoHuawei also doesn’t have to worry about manufacturing a quarter billion+ phones. It’s easy to throw the latest unproven tech at a low volume device.
- axelthegerman 2y agoWhat stops the larger manufacturers to run a smaller production like the one in the article? Sure their process is set up for larger volumes but if they wanted they could do smaller, experimental ones (which of course would be more expensive as is this device). They could if they wanted, they just rather stick to their high volume, high margin approach instead of truly innovating
- scarface_74 2y agoAnd they have to build support into the operating system and try to convince third parties to support it. Third parties will not support a low volume device - see the Vision Pro. Why spend engineering resources on something that doesn’t have a market? Everything you say yes to means you’re saying no to something else.
- belter 2y agohttps://youtu.be/H2RhIdf0MXo https://youtu.be/H2RhIdf0MXo
- sjsdaiuasgdia 2y agoOof, even in that carefully curated video, in a couple shots the fold creases are visible. Maybe it's just me but a screen with bumps and/or dips is distracting as hell.
- dageshi 2y agoSamsung was the first out with foldable phones 5-6 years ago I think? I don't think it's complacency I think the existing form factor is just overwhelmingly popular and good enough for most people.
- throawayonthe 2y agothe first commercially available one was https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royole_FlexPai https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royole_FlexPai (chinese startup) and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huawei_Mate_X https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huawei_Mate_X released almost concurrently with the samsung
- notahacker 2y agoYeah. The Galaxy Fold was genuinely innovative, and surprisingly practical. Huawei did an early folding phone too.. before the sanctions. Chinese companies do far more innovative stuff than they're given credit for by Americans, but putting one more fold and an even sillier price tag on their premium phone than the competition isn't it
- croisillon 2y agoi don't want a foldable phone anymore than i want AI in it
- cpursley 2y agoAs someone who’s tried the high end Chinese phones and really appreciate that they’re innovating and trying new things, I’ve come to the conclusion that Apple and iOS is simply a more stable and reliable platform and better ecosystem (better quality apps, hands down). And the end of the day, I need a device that simply works. The largest problem with Apple is not that they are “behind” feature wise, but their pathetic battery power - I’d pay a lot more for a phone that lasted a day or two on a charge. Maybe add memory options to that wish list.
- ghaff 2y agoI find my iPhone gives a pretty reliable day unless I'm using it really heavily. The removable magnetic battery is pretty useful for a bit more oomph without cables being all over the place.
- Cthulhu_ 2y agoWhat you're omitting from your reply is how popular this device will actually become; the fact that people still buy the chip update/price increase phone is a strong datapoint that they don't actually want gimmicky features like folding screens.
- FirmwareBurner 2y agoSales numbers disagree that people are buying those.
- mrjin 2y agoIt was never meant for everyone. I guess the original audiences were those need ultra mobile devices with extra large screens and do not care much about the price.
- suraci 2y ago> See what the ban on Huawei accomplished Without the Huawei ban, Huawei may have taken 70% market share and killed most local competitors now, same as BYD I'm on the side of China but I have to say it's good for american industries the one you should really question is the chip sanction
- FirmwareBurner 2y ago>Without the Huawei ban, Huawei may have taken 70% market share and killed most local competitors now, same as BYD I don't see the problem. What about the free market? What about the consumer? Why should geopolitics be used to hold back progress just protect the bottom line of two lazy companies?
- mrjin 2y agoIt looks you might have reversed the result and the cause. The ban was there simply because US peers could not compete already, rather than the ban led to less competition. Mobile devices are really just a relatively small chunk of Huawei's business.
- gyomu 2y agoFor now foldable devices are still super expensive and only interesting to hardcore tech enthusiasts, but I strongly feel foldable tech is what will finally bring some innovation to phones & tablets, whose form factor has been stagnant for quite a while now. It's probably still a while away, but I for one am very excited for Apple to ship a regular size iPhone that folds down to a small square (people with small pockets know the pain), and an iPad Pro that folds down to the size of an iPad mini and can fit in my daily sling. And as the tech keeps maturing and gets cheaper, we'll probably see interesting offerings from smaller players like Nothing. Nintendo making a foldable Switch 3 could also be super cool. As someone who works in the hardware space, I'm excited :)
- poisonborz 2y ago> only interesting to hardcore tech enthusiasts I think that the HN crowd is exactly that and I doubt many would want this phone. Foldable phones are just flashy status symbols at this point without much use. I guess the actual target market is affluent people who want to show off, who want to have "something different", and who will not actually use the added screen space.
- daeken 2y agoI want a trifold (albeit not this one). I switched to foldables with the Z Fold 3 and never looked back; I've upgraded each generation since, because they make my life substantially better. While I still spend a lot of time at my computer for dev work, I have some chronic issues that limit the hours I can manage; to me, my foldable is essentially a disability aid. I wrote an entire novella on my foldable (only the editing was done on a computer), done countless meetings while splitting the screen for a doc review, etc. It has genuinely changed my quality of life and I'm thankfully in a position that the cost isn't an issue.
- automatic6131 2y ago>Foldable phones are just flashy status symbols at this point without much use I have a foldable phone, and the killer use case is watching videos (YouTube, Netflix) on the go, at the breakfast table, on a plane or train. And better gaming (e.g. I played XCom Enemy Within a couple of years ago, blew my mind. A full PC game from my teenage years, in the palm of my hand). The game was so much more usable in the unfolded state with a pen/stylus. The third great use case is filming myself lifting weights from anywhere flat e.g. a bench. Without use of a tripod or the waterbottle leaning trick (which requires a mostly full bottle, and a high friction surface and the angle is never right). Also, for the first time since I was a teenager, strangers will actually ask you about it. It's rare enough that people are even interested in phones anymore. This is definitely YMMV But I can assure you, it's no status symbol, unless identifying yourself as a tech nerd with slightly too much disposable income is a status you want. Which is what I am, but who aspires to this?
- aaron695 2y ago[dead]
- teleforce 2y agoJust waiting for someone to make the inevitable "my phone has higher degree of freedom (DoF) than yours" meme.
- nmeofthestate 2y agoThe next Samsung Galaxy - 4 folds and a lubrastrip. https://theonion.com/fuck-everything-were-doing-five-blades-1819584036/ https://theonion.com/fuck-everything-were-doing-five-blades-...
- axelthegerman 2y ago$3660 phone running neither iOS nor Android... Is there much known about their OS?
- suraci 2y agoit might be subjective, personally i can't stand a crease on screen at all why not just use 2or3 hinged screens like surface duo? surface duo is ugly too, but it looks better than a creased screen
- beretguy 2y agoWhy not make a phone that you can connect to a monitor and use like a computer? Like PinePhone but actually make it usable, with good battery, processing speed, cellular working on all carriers etc.
- mikae1 2y agoThat's what I do with my GrapheneOS phone sometimes. One day at work I connected a USB-C > keyboard/display/mouse adapter and realized it works terrifically well.
- Reubachi 2y agoIf you mean a more user focused sandbox OS on the mobile/dock, rather than like current ios/android docking.....this device would over time become relegated out of the stack cuz there's just better standalone/dedicated options that don't need to be manipulated every time. (though the nintendo switch obviously beat this assumption) I think the way it is now is kind of perfect. 16:9 Mobile device for personal and some work comms, social media, media. Work computer for work, easy to move around if need to work elsewhere. Home computer for personal work, play, connectivity. really integrated into home stack, can't move.
- chvid 2y agoI consider the trifold phone more of a technological flex than intended mass market product. But significant than they are now exporting it; though Huawei still faces massive headwinds outside China due to the American restrictions. In particular on the software front - ie where is your European banking app or Google pay equivalent?
- dijit 2y ago> “Lack of Google still is a ‘gaping hole’ for mainstream international market especially those who will pay top dollar for a tri-fold hardware but which want to run Netflix or Google’s Play Store" Yeah I can see that being an issue. > "or the latest cutting edge GenAI Google Gemini features,” Uh... really? I can't imagine that gemini is a showstopper for the average phone user in 2025. Maybe they're just saying this to make Google feel happy?
- bloopernova 2y agoI want a stretchable phone. Starts as a 15cm diagonal screen, can be stretched to 30cm tablet size.
- beretguy 2y agoI want a phone that can be connected to external monitor and used like a desktop computer.
- bloopernova 2y agoI also want that, plus the reverse: When you attach the tablet via USB4, it becomes a screen. It also shares its CPU, GPU, storage etc with the main PC.
- Ajedi32 2y agoCan't basically all Samsung phones do that? https://www.samsung.com/us/apps/dex/ https://www.samsung.com/us/apps/dex/
- Mengkudulangsat 2y agoWhat's the Huawei OS policy towards... uhm rampant piracy? I guess that's one way to carve a niche from Android in international markets.
- ASalazarMX 2y agoThe same in China, and many Asian countries, probably. Their solution to profit from new things is not legal gatekeeping, but rapid iteration. By the time someone gets a decision on a copyright demand, the market has long moved on. Bigger companies might get speedier treatment, though.
- rsynnott 2y ago12 years after Samsung showed their first concept device, and 7 years after the commercial launch of folding phones, folding phones are still a niche within a niche, with negligible sales. Huawei is presumably betting that the market acceptance problem is that they don't fold _enough times_, and aren't expensive enough.
- new_user_final 2y agoHuawei is presumably betting that the market by making thinnest foldable smartphone possible
- pancsta 2y agoId start with naming - its clearly a tablet sized device. Its not a single-hand device. Thus, its an expandable phone or a foldable tablet. How many people buy tablets? This is the real reference point here.
- ASalazarMX 2y agoFor now. Current phones would be considered phablets 10 years ago.
- Reubachi 2y agoMany orders of magnitude less than either "how many people buy phones" and "how many people have laptops". about 5 times over last idk 10 years i've almost bought an ipad for a particular game I play that has a mobile equivalent to desktop. Every time I then "settle" for; "I can just get a 50 dollar android tablet" Then; "well my phone can do it if I really like had a long plane ride or something." Finally coming to not doing anything at all and being happy I never acted on the initial urge.
- sagacity 2y agoThis reminds me of Rubik's Magic. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubik%27s_Magic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubik%27s_Magic
- partomniscient 2y agoBut would you really want to risk your transforming your phone by using the 'squish and twist (flip, flip, flip)' maneouver?
- sagacity 2y agoIt would be fairly unfortunate if you couldn't answer a call because you can't untangle your phone, agreed.
- User_1 2y agoI hope I'll live to see the day we have a laptop, tablet and smartphone all in one. You plug it into a desktop setup and it's a high end computer with which you can game and work, then you detach it and fold it into a tablet, and fold again into a smartphone.
- Reubachi 2y agoIgnoring that a bunch of implementations of this already exist (docks, phablets, Surface, laptops, etc) What problem would this fix in your day to day? For me it's hard to say. One "motor" doing to many nuanced things at the level of the lowest common denominator ie; comms device, high end gaming rig, media server, work and personal file server, plane/trane/car ride movie machine, 2FA, payment method, VPN, radio, pihole etc but all restricted by the small platform, lack of peripheries built in, massive requirements for networking/OS development for all these apps/integrations.