6 things foldable phones need to overcome to prove they're not a fad
- 5 years ago
Foldable phones are really, finally, happening this year. But almost nobody should buy one until their many kinks are worked out.
Earlier this week, Samsung upstaged its own Galaxy S10 unveiling (all four of them) with another big announcement: its foldable Galaxy Fold phone. The nearly $2,000 luxury device, which transforms from a phone into a tablet when unfolded, is being touted as a taste of the future of mobile.
But now that we're days removed from the Galaxy Fold's flashy reveal and merely days away from Mobile World Congress, where a handful of other Chinese phone-makers will show off their own foldable phones, I can't help but see red flags everywhere.
In 2017, I made a prediction that foldable phones had no chance of succeeding. At the time, I based my skepticism off of prototype foldable displays and the many dual-screen and foldable phones that failed to catch on.
The short of it was this: the technology to make foldable phones practical isn't ready yet And now, even without seeing the Galaxy Fold in person, I'm more certain than ever foldable phones are going to be a short-lived fad.
That Samsung didn't feel confident enough to let any journalists try out the Galaxy Fold for themselves, especially when the device is launching in two months, is somewhat alarming.
The fact is, foldable phones are cool to look at and they're exciting to write about — it sure beats writing about another well-made Samsung knockoff that costs hundreds less — but there are clear engineering challenges that still need to be overcome for foldable phones to really herald in a new era of mobile. Solutions that not even Samsung has figured out yet.
If foldable phones are ever to become mainstream, all of the following need to be solved.
more at: https://hocdethi.blogspot.com/2019/02/see-galaxy-fold-samsungs-new-foldable.html
Earlier this week, Samsung upstaged its own Galaxy S10 unveiling (all four of them) with another big announcement: its foldable Galaxy Fold phone. The nearly $2,000 luxury device, which transforms from a phone into a tablet when unfolded, is being touted as a taste of the future of mobile.
But now that we're days removed from the Galaxy Fold's flashy reveal and merely days away from Mobile World Congress, where a handful of other Chinese phone-makers will show off their own foldable phones, I can't help but see red flags everywhere.
In 2017, I made a prediction that foldable phones had no chance of succeeding. At the time, I based my skepticism off of prototype foldable displays and the many dual-screen and foldable phones that failed to catch on.
The short of it was this: the technology to make foldable phones practical isn't ready yet And now, even without seeing the Galaxy Fold in person, I'm more certain than ever foldable phones are going to be a short-lived fad.
That Samsung didn't feel confident enough to let any journalists try out the Galaxy Fold for themselves, especially when the device is launching in two months, is somewhat alarming.
The fact is, foldable phones are cool to look at and they're exciting to write about — it sure beats writing about another well-made Samsung knockoff that costs hundreds less — but there are clear engineering challenges that still need to be overcome for foldable phones to really herald in a new era of mobile. Solutions that not even Samsung has figured out yet.
If foldable phones are ever to become mainstream, all of the following need to be solved.
more at: https://hocdethi.blogspot.com/2019/02/see-galaxy-fold-samsungs-new-foldable.html