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> trapped in a shape everyone else seems to be moving on from. Really not sure if we were ever there. Foldable phones still feel like a novelty that is expensi
by rf15 2mo ago
> trapped in a shape everyone else seems to be moving on from.
Really not sure if we were ever there. Foldable phones still feel like a novelty that is expensive and fragile, among other tradeoffs. Also moving on to what, exactly? The regular slate form factor is what people buy, and have been for years at this point.
- frollogaston 2mo agoI'm confused, what is everyone else moving away from, folding phones? The same article said Samsung is still making folding phones and Apple is about to release one.
- Mogzol 2mo agoMoving away from the tall narrow foldables that open to a square, to shorter, wider foldables that open to a rectangle, like the Galaxy Z fold 8 and the rumored iPhone foldable.
- frollogaston 2mo agoOh. Well that removes the one reason I might care for a foldable, to fit in my pocket or hand.
- phinnaeus 2mo agoThe biggest benefit of the passport-style foldable is it might actually fit in your hand. Modern phones haven’t been ergonomic since the iPhone 13 Mini.
- jay_kyburz 2mo agoI want an ultra wide foldable with the hinge on the short side. Like a flip phone
- VCFundedGenYer 2mo agoThe younger generation is moving back to 2000s style flip phones with no smartphone features. Which honestly I support. I still have my LG VX8100 and wish it would work on modern networks.
- frollogaston 2mo agoIt's like 0.01% of the younger generation doing that
- SchemaLoad 2mo agoNot really, there are a couple of new products like that but they are fairly uncommon and inconvenient. I think there is a real movement to want to use social media and phones less, but I think it's is more likely to come from Apple implementing tools to help break social media addiction than buying a flip phone.
- annzabelle 2mo agoI've looked seriously into doing this, and there are just too many situations where I'm expected to have access to a particular app or website on my phone in day to day life. Maps are also a killer feature, and I use instagram messaging with some friends here (expats with unstable phone numbers). The best I've had was to turn my phone greyscale, which really helped me cut back on any short form video consumption, but my endless reddit scrolling is still there.
- frollogaston 2mo agoYou could get a bad smartphone. For a while the iPhone 6 Batterygate Edition really made sure I'd only use it for essential stuff, cause even typing on the keyboard was a waiting game.
- annzabelle 2mo agoI tried switching to iphone briefly (lifelong nexus/pixel user) because I hate using iphones. I didn't end up holding out very long and I switched back to android after a couple of weeks, and in the switch back, apple screwed up my texting and I wasn't able to receive texts from iphone users for over a month. Maybe I should go back and do that again. The typing experience on iphone is so poor that it made commenting on reddit (my main vice) painful.
- toasty228 2mo agoIt's feels like 3d TVs and AR headsets, they're trying to find a new customer base to milk but it just isn't here
- oblio 2mo ago> Global foldable smartphone shipments have grown from roughly 2.8 million units in 2020 to an anticipated 20–25 million units in 2026. Foldables will slowly become the standard phones, probably over a decade or so.
- preisschild 2mo agoI doubt that very much. They will always be a lot more expansive than even large (~6.8") single screen devices. I don't see how folds will ever be easier/cheaper to produce than single screen displays.
- vineyardmike 2mo agoThe same way that smart phones aren’t easier nor cheaper to produce than feature phones. Once the technology and features get good, people’s default expectations shift. I’ve not been sold on flip phones so far, but the latest “passport” style has made me curious.
- toasty228 2mo ago20 million is a rounding error, 1.3 to 1.5 billion smartphones are sold per year every year since 2013. I was in the heart of the VR revolution in 2015, they were predicting 150b+ market by 2020, it barely reached 20b... In 2025... They're always hyping their new gadgets but at the end of the day people are just not buying these in any meaningful amount. They love to take the past 6 months performance and draw a straight line from there.
- oblio 2mo agoVR headsets are a totally different ballgame. They look weird. They make some people sick. They're distancing people since the experience is single person. They can't be used much outdoors. Etc, etc. A different smartphone format that has the potential to merge smartphones (super popular) with tablets (also popular) is a totally different thing. Once screen durability goes up and prices go down to 800 or less, they will fly off the shelves. They're selling 20 million units at an average price of 1.8k each.
- princevegeta89 2mo agoFolding phones aren't going away; they're becoming more mainstream. The initial versions of folding phones that came out five or six years ago had issues and some aspects that weren't addressed. But we are literally in the sixth or seventh generation of folding phones, and Samsung has basically perfected them. If you think the durability is bad, think again, because they are very, very durable. I use a Z Fold 6, and it is built like a tank. The next ones are even tougher. In terms of usefulness, they are actually more useful than the bigass phones like the iPhone Max or S26 Ultra, and other comparable ones from various manufacturers. The outer screen is pretty small and very usable with one hand. There are a few multitasking options you can choose from once you unfold them. you can have two or four apps open at once if needed. They are also very good for watching videos. A huge number of smartphone users do spend a lot of time watching stuff on their screens. The latest Samsung Z Fold 8 has become a huge success... its size appears to be even more ideal for one hand. the thinness and overall size of it once opened has essentially seemed like the perfect form factor for the latest generation of smartphone users.
- user43928 2mo agoI can believe this for Samsung, but Google's hardware is as crappy as one would expect. I had a Pixel 9 Pro Fold, and within half a year it developed some issue probably related to the sensor that tells it which screen should be turned on, and the screen would randomly stay black. At least Google replaced it with the newer generation model for free, which I then sold.
- Orphis 2mo agoAnd mine is almost 2 years old and in great condition. It's hard to know what is responsible in those cases, a manufacturing defect or a rough user. And knowing what I've seen people do with their non-foldable phone, I'm not sure who to trust.
- squeegeeninja 2mo agoI'm not sure you can engineer your way out of the fundamental problem: You have a lever with both arms converging into a fragile display fold. Sand and dust can't not be brutal on that.
- whywhywhywhy 2mo agoThis article is extremely poorly written and has the assumption we all very deep in folding phone lore and can read the writers mind. I think there's some new folding phone aspect ratio ("passport sized"?) that's more popular but the article never really explains which one they're talking about. Don't think it means moving away from folding in general.
- soco 2mo agoDunno which country they mean, but my passport is quite big. I would never buy such a behemoth phone. But maybe that's just me, always sticking with the smallest (flagships) available... I also never bought a tablet, so the foldable brings something in which I was never interested.
- bayesnet 2mo agoPassport sizes are standardized and AFAIK every issuer complies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_7810 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO/IEC_7810
- shawabawa3 2mo agoAlso this line is very weird: > That’s enough to mean the 11 Pro Fold still feels like a smart purchase right now, but I’m worried it won’t do for long. How long are these phone's purchasable windows? like 12 months max? So it's still a "smart purchase" now, despite being out of date? So maybe it's not out of date yet? But will be soon, like literally every other phone?
- dbbk 2mo agoI have literally never seen a folding phone 'in the wild'. I'm interested! But it's certainly nowhere on the mainstream radar.
- indymike 2mo ago> Foldable phones still feel like a novelty that is expensive and fragile, among other tradeoffs. I've had a Moto Razr Pro for three years now. No signs of wearing out and it's taken quite a bit of abuse. The only tradeoff is probably water resistance and the crease in the screen (which you get used to but is a trade-off). The positive: same size a a wallet when folded, outer screen makes checking notifications fast, and the outer screen lets you use the outer camera for selfies and video recording. I'll probably get another one when the battery dwindles away.
- fg137 2mo ago> it's taken quite a bit of abuse I guess you are not nearly as bad at handling phones like I do -- sometimes I drop the phone three times a day.
- chocochunks 2mo agoI had a Razr 2023. My inner screen's touch layer died out of the blue after ~1 year and a few months which essentially broke the phone (it has a very small and limited outer screen). It was otherwise pristine too, no visible damage or anything. From what I read it's not that uncommon either. Still gambled on a Samsung Flip because I like the form factor but I am worried about durability. I'm generally pretty gentle with devices and never had a screen break or anything of that nature.
- fg137 2mo agoIt's the Verge. They want you to think everyone is following the trend, when most of the world don't care about foldable phones at all.
- jeroenhd 2mo agoI think there are plenty of people like me who would like to try one, but don't feel like spending multiple months of rent on the privilege of doing so. I'm holding off for the coming while with the current RAM prices keeping phones incredibly expensive, but in five or six years when my current phone goes EOL I hope to see affordable options.
- rjh29 2mo agoSecond hand zfold 4 was 600 quid when I bought it a few years ago. Hardly "multiple months of rent".
- jeroenhd 2mo agoA second hand pixel is a quarter of that. A four year old second hand phone being worth as much as a new midrange phone still makes these devices a bad deal, especially with the Z Fold 4 receiving no more security updates within a year.
- rjh29 2mo agoIt was an awesome deal because I love having a folding phone. If you don't then it won't be. And it wasn't 4 years old when I bought it. It was a year old. My point is you can buy second hand of the previous model or so, a lot of people have FOMO and upgrade often even though newer Folds have only minor differences.
- expedition32 2mo agoThe days of people actually obsessing about smartphones are gone. They are just tools. The average customer just buys the latest Galaxy or iPhone without thinking about it.