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I still don't get the fanfare over folding phones. They tend to be more fragile, and if I really need a larger screen, I'd much rather use a laptop or tablet.

by ronsor 23d ago

mostlysimilar 23d ago
For many people the phone is the only computing device they use. Keeping portability and offering a larger display is a compelling offering for those people. I tend to agree with you.
- bigfishrunning 23d ago
  > For many people the phone is the only computing device they use. I suspect the crossover area of the Venn diagram between people who spend what a foldable costs on a phone and people who have no other computing device is extremely small.
  - mostlysimilar 23d ago
    Why so? For most people a computer (in the traditional keyboard/mouse sense) isn't a leisure device, a phone is. They scroll social media feeds and watch YouTube or whatever. I'm sure most of us on HN use them for leisure, but for most people a computer is a device for work, not for play.
nunez 23d ago
I no longer need an iPad Mini in my bag with this thing...
fishtoaster 23d ago
I quite like the idea of a tablet I can keep in my pocket. If there was some sort of first-party attachable keyboard (a la the iPad magic keyboard), I'd be strongly considering getting this. In the age of AI and increasingly-mature cloud agents, I can get a lot of my work done from a setup like that.
httpz 23d ago
Galaxy Fold is popular with older people who have trouble reading small text
- lwkl 23d ago
  That’s a good point bigger text is possible on the iPhone but you can display less of it so it might be nice to have the bigger screen.
- djeastm 23d ago
  And if there's anything Apple wants to do, it's sell phones to older people.
delecti 23d ago
There's totally valid criticism to be made about the durability, not to mention price, but the pitch is crystal clear, "your phone can be a tablet on-demand". You (the proverbial you, not necessarily every person) always have your phone with you, but often don't have a tablet or laptop.
- xxs 23d ago
  >always have your phone with you, but often don't have a tablet or laptop. I cant do any work on a phone or tablet (emails dont count). Laptops are fine, of course. Comparing to laptops just makes too little sense. The thing is over 1cm tick when folded - making it extra difficult to put in any front pocket (or I will have get skinnier hips)
  - delecti 22d ago
    Thickness is really never an issue. My current phone in its case is over 1cm already, and I could easily fit a phone twice as thick in my back pocket, and also a bit wider. And I'm a woman, with the deficient pants pockets that entails. And I agree that work is probably not the main use case for this for most people. It's really just a convenient way to have a tablet with you at all times. There are certainly times I wish my phone had a bigger screen.

I still don't get the fanfare over folding phones. They tend to be more fragile, and if I really need a larger screen, I'd much rather use a laptop or tablet.

by ronsor 23d ago

I still don't get the fanfare over folding phones. They tend to be more fragile, and if I really need a larger screen, I'd much rather use a laptop or tablet.

mostlysimilar 23d ago

For many people the phone is the only computing device they use. Keeping portability and offering a larger display is a compelling offering for those people. I tend to agree with you.

bigfishrunning 23d ago
> For many people the phone is the only computing device they use. I suspect the crossover area of the Venn diagram between people who spend what a foldable costs on a phone and people who have no other computing device is extremely small.
- mostlysimilar 23d ago
  Why so? For most people a computer (in the traditional keyboard/mouse sense) isn't a leisure device, a phone is. They scroll social media feeds and watch YouTube or whatever. I'm sure most of us on HN use them for leisure, but for most people a computer is a device for work, not for play.

nunez 23d ago

I no longer need an iPad Mini in my bag with this thing...

fishtoaster 23d ago

I quite like the idea of a tablet I can keep in my pocket. If there was some sort of first-party attachable keyboard (a la the iPad magic keyboard), I'd be strongly considering getting this. In the age of AI and increasingly-mature cloud agents, I can get a lot of my work done from a setup like that.

httpz 23d ago

Galaxy Fold is popular with older people who have trouble reading small text

lwkl 23d ago
That’s a good point bigger text is possible on the iPhone but you can display less of it so it might be nice to have the bigger screen.
djeastm 23d ago
And if there's anything Apple wants to do, it's sell phones to older people.

delecti 23d ago

There's totally valid criticism to be made about the durability, not to mention price, but the pitch is crystal clear, "your phone can be a tablet on-demand". You (the proverbial you, not necessarily every person) always have your phone with you, but often don't have a tablet or laptop.

xxs 23d ago
>always have your phone with you, but often don't have a tablet or laptop. I cant do any work on a phone or tablet (emails dont count). Laptops are fine, of course. Comparing to laptops just makes too little sense. The thing is over 1cm tick when folded - making it extra difficult to put in any front pocket (or I will have get skinnier hips)
- delecti 22d ago
  Thickness is really never an issue. My current phone in its case is over 1cm already, and I could easily fit a phone twice as thick in my back pocket, and also a bit wider. And I'm a woman, with the deficient pants pockets that entails. And I agree that work is probably not the main use case for this for most people. It's really just a convenient way to have a tablet with you at all times. There are certainly times I wish my phone had a bigger screen.