Every phone maker seems convinced that if they can be the one to make this work, they’ll be the champion of world forever, or something.
I can’t understand why a user would even want this. How many users do want this?
I like the idea of it, but I can live without it.
A foldable phone has the benefits of a tablet (screen size) and a phone (more compact), allowing you to alternate between the two at will. I can see the appeal.
Things are already generally optimized for a phone screen though.
Yes that is a good point I noticed all the time when using a foldable. Most uses are just optimized for the standard format. Also phone holders and such.
To me it just seems like you get a tablet that is too small with the cost of having a chonky and heavy phone and a screen that has a added failure point.
But I’m one of those weirdos who doesnt know where my phone is 95% of the time. I check KDE Connect for notifications once or twice a day and if it shows that the battery is low, I find the phone and plug it in. So I guess I’m not the person these new phonetablets are marketed to
Why not make something like the 3DS? Like, it flips open and you have 2x screen size. It doesn’t actually have to be one continuous screen, with all the failure points that entails; you’re allowed to have two separate screens that join into one. Every dual monitor home PC setup works this way.
Heck, take it one step further and have a little keyboard that can slide out from the bottom if you’re feeling brave.
That’s what I think. I miss physical keyboards on phones, and generally don’t mind a phone on the heavier side.
People absolutely hate bezels though, so it’d never fly with the flagship phones.
You can’t understand why someone would want phone that becomes a tablet? Really?
For real. Just last weekend I was at a conference and realized that I left my tablet at home and the agenda/workbook for the event was PDF. I was pinching and scrolling with my iPhone while my colleague next to me opened up his Galaxy Fold and was reading everything fine. I mean, yeah, it’s not a common need for me, but there’s definitely use-cases for this–especially for people who have to read digital documents on the go a lot and don’t want to have to carry extra devices just to do so.
You’re saying there’s been zero times you’re looking at something on your phone and would like a bigger screen for it? Not once have you had something on your phone and wished it was full size? Or gone to open it on a tablet or computer instead?
All those times i also wanted a mouse and keyboard.
I can say as a Pixel 9 Pro Fold owner, I have used it. And never once have I really needed a full keyboard and mouse for what I’d even think of using my phone for.
I only use it for some mobile gaming, and websites that do very poorly on mobile despite that being the only online device for so many people nowadays.
Having actually use one as a daily driver for over a year,… it’s not worth it. It’s not worth the additional weight and bulk, carrying it around all the time for the handful of times I do use it. And without a significant battery increase to justify despite being literally twice as thick as a normal phone.
You’re the problem when it comes to big tech, you realize this, yes? Why shouldn’t I buy this unnecessary tech? Why shouldn’t I use AI as much as I want? Sure, put on the ring, what harm could come of it? Of course I want a camera on my glasses!
fucking love your username (con mucho chicharrón).
Ok, well I’m not sure why I’d need a keyboard to read an ebook. Why would you?
Having never owned a tablet, it’s either a phone or my pc monitor. I even have an iPhone 12 MINI, and I’m a bigger dude so it looks like a business card in my hand.
Well yes, but I’m very good at saving things for later and watching it when I’m in front of the big screen at home 2 months later.
Thats what laptops are for.
And you always have a laptop when out and about during the day? While on transit? Waiting for an appointment?
There are a lot of people that don’t own a computer anymore. Their entire digital life is through their phone. It’s the only portal to the web that have.
And you always have a laptop when out and about during the day?
No, certain things can wait.
A LOT of things can wait.
Nope I cannot. But I’m just fine leaving the house without any kind of device on my person at all. I’ve had to be “connected” by pager(s) and phone 24/7/365 for years when I worked in public safety. And now that I’m retired, I’m so over it.
It’s taken a few years, but I’m finally free.
I want to follow in on your footsteps, for sure. I can’t right now because of work and kids, but I’ve been slowly going out to walk with nothing but an MP3 player, and have my phone off during commute as well.
The first few times I was honestly anxious. Now, shit, I was part of that army of drones out there, what a fucking eye opener, honestly.
You have made the first step. Good for you!
I do. Consolidating my phone and tablet into a single device would be very convenient. Adding support for an external monitor, keyboard and mouse to replace my laptop would be even better. I didn’t buy a Duo not because I don’t want the product, but because I know they won’t work well for another few iterations (at least).
I’ll join the chorus. If the price-point were right and the tech were reliable, I’d happily trade a good amount of thickness in order to have the option of an iPad Mini or an iPhone, but in the footprint of the latter when not in use. I really prefer to carry my phone in my front pocket and not to EDC a bag.
It’s just that the price-point is wrong and the tech is not reliable.
I can’t understand why a user would even want this. How many users do want this?
I dunno what to tell you, I love the thing. I’ve liked the idea of foldables for a while. My buddy got the Z Fold 7 and loves it, I picked up the Duo and it’s great for me.
Foldables certainly aren’t the right fit for everyone, there are inherent trade offs. But I love the concept. I love having a small tablet with me everywhere. I love how compact the device is when folded. I’m enjoying a phone that is substantially different from every smartphone I’ve ever used. It reminds me of when smartphones were new and each one had things that made them unique.
I can certainly understand why people wouldn’t want one. But I find it surprising that you can’t understand why someone would.
I wanted one. I tried to buy one. It sold out faster than I could click add to cart.
I currently have an iPhone 16 pro max and it isn’t big enough. I liked the idea of having a bigger screen on-demand, in a portable cellular form factor.
I want one but then I go to T-Mobile and see that dammed crease in the middle and I know my OCD ass won’t be able to handle it.
And I work in the repair industry so it wouldn’t last very long. And it has no practical use. At all. It’s just a keeping up with the Jones gimmick and it’s made by apple. All their tech sucks they survive on nothing but name.
China phone manufacturers like Xiaomi, OPPO, Huawei already have 5th or 6th Gen folds and they are awesome. Many people here use folds. The build quality is outstanding.
Plus the software is actually designed to use either the full screen or split screen. What Apple have done is a joke. The few people that bought the Apple fold, are returning it because the software is useless.
I have been using the same phone for 9 years and only had to replace the battery. There is literally no way these folding phones are lasting that long, even with “outstanding build quality”.
For the same price with no tradeoffs? I’d like one. For a lot more with downsides? Nah, I’m good. I have very little need or desire for this. A normal phone shape handles 99.99% of my phone use cases perfectly. It’d be nice to have, but it’s not worth much.
The concept is kinda cool. Take the Galaxy Fold 8 for example; a nice and compact phone that actually fits in your pocket and can be a tablet if you wanna watch a movie or something in bed or public transport.
I still wouldn’t buy one; spending over a grand on a phone that even if it holds up fine can be damaged by accidentally tapping on the screen wrong seems dumb. Nevermind that I personally wouldn’t buy a Samsung for multiple reasons.
Investors want repeats of the iPhone and social media revolution. They won’t get it by making tweaks to the smartphone or social media platforms. Nothing will stop them from trying, but all of this is just spinning the wheels.
Guys, we had the optimal form factor, the LG Wing, years ago! No folding displayed required!
I’m not even joking. I used mine for years and loved it.
Guys, we had the optimal form factor, the LG Wing, years ago! I used mine for years and loved it.
I genuinely thought this would be some old ass phone from when before smartphones were a thing.
It came out in 2020. The phone I’m typing this on came out 1,5 years after that.
Also what is this monstrosity??
It’s awesome multi-tasking bliss, and it’s durable, and it’s easy to repair if you do break it!
I really miss my LG Wing. The USB port went out first and I used to charge it only with wireless charging for a few months but that’s just not viable for longevity. No shop around here wants to take a crack at repairing it for me.
Genuinely the second small screen is so useful. I can have my navigation and music player on screens and not muck about as much. I can list more but now I’m ashamed as most of what I use both for are for media consumption lol
They’re so easy to repair! You should have a crack at it yourself!
I get the appeal, especially as I get older and my vision isn’t as good. Having a screen that can be bigger as needed helps in a number of ways. That said, no way I’d buy one because I don’t see how they survive in the long term.
me, i have a Motorola flip, excellent pockeabikity, tried the Samsung Fold 8 (not ultra) looks excellent for my use but I’m poor, so it stays on the display.
I for one can’t wait to see what Motorola brings out next year on the RAZR lineup that is fully compatible with GrapheneOS. If they manage that, with an inner screen that is 6.7" then I’m selling my Pixel. Otherwise, I guess I’m keeping the Pixel until it dies.
I thought the first Motorola with grapheneOS have been confirmed and it’s not a flip form factor. And it’s flagship. This caused a lot of jimmies rustled. I understand why, because Motorola is more known for their budget offering, but I also have seen why it has to be flagship because there are hardware stuff that’s needed by grapheneOS.
The Pixels having the proper security hardware on their poor performing on benchmarks SoC seems more like a happy coincidence to me. I’m happy to be politely corrected.
Yeah, I’ve had pretty much every pixel XL (for when they made smaller Pros because I need large screes) ever, except for the 5. My last one was the 10 Pro XL. Right now I use the 10 with GOS for personal and an 8 Pro in stock for a work phone.
I really would love a RAZR ultra with GOS, but we need to see if the hardware will meet the GOS requirements.
My understanding is that no Motorola hardware has been approved by GOS yet, and that the partnership actually means getting GOS involved in the choice of hardware and its implementation and architecture, but I could be wrong.
The only reason I’d want this is to have a smaller phone which I can open to a currently normal sized phone.
I don’t know why they keep pushing tablets on us.
Well, I’ve tried it (fold6) and after 23 months the inner foil started having bubbles, then it grew to a huge bubble along the crease and shortly after the display below the bubble was black.
So while it worked well and was useful, mostly with watching movies, photos or maps I switched back to a standard phone and would never use a foldable display again since my assumptions were proven.
I have no desire for this. Id rather have an old school folding style type phone that folds flush so when you open it the display is across two sections with a miniscule gap. Like a phone sized Nintendo ds. Instead we get DS sized phones that are awkward as hell with so many typea of clothing.
These things would sell like hotcakes if they didn’t cost so much and were reliable. People want them, the tech just isn’t perfected yet, and who knows if the price will ever be reasonable.
Meh I like no tech and making attempts. I would never spend that money on a phone. I have never spent half that on a phone.
I like products not designed for absolutely everyone though, niche is nice
I would’ve loved it if it had the flagship processor and cameras. Having an iPad mini in your pocket is great for things, plus being able to have dual applications running is great. But I can live without it for now. It wasn’t an upgrade like a pro max iPhone was.
this is a solution for a problem they made. they took away the small devices, so they could force these idiotic foldables.
I’m on my 3rd or 4th foldable now, not because they’ve been failing, but because I want it and honestly don’t see myself going back to a non-foldable now.
Phone new oogga booga phone go squish oogga booga
That’s the exact failure that happened on the bend test for Zak on JerryRigEverything. Crazy it’s happening without the full-muscle stress test.
The article says that the best guess is there’s a physical part of the hinge about there that must be perfectly aligned, and if it isn’t then that specific screen is eventually doomed.
Yeah, this boils down to a manufacturing engineering problem. There’s some process happening during assembly that’s resulting in these slipping by… or being allowed by.
EDIT: And I mean, yeah, the thing could’ve been designed better from the get go, but that ship sailed long ago.
Apple probably didn’t plan for their planned obsolescence to work THIS quickly.
I’m a borderline fanboy but this was damn funny.
Tbh, I figured Apple taking their time on these was because they were trying to improve the engineering over the Android folding screen offerings.
Now I wonder if they just wait because everyone assumes Apple would try and make it better, and then they just sell a bunch + the Apple tax, even though it’s just as bad of a product. Like, the marketing team just saying: “wait a couple years”.
Yeah, I would have thought that Apple would have gone to one of the few manufacturers that have done the engineering for them. There’s a few Chinese brands that have been doing it for years, as well as Samsung. The latter have almost a decade of experience making them now.
But I guess with the current US regime, Apple doesn’t have much choice.
The screens are made by Samsung.
Hardly matters, the sort of people who buy such a pointless, gimicky and overly expensive phone will keep buying Apple regardless.
I like tech, I think it’s cool, and expensive features almost always become cheap or standard features in the future.
When someone figures out how to do this well, I will definitely want a folding phone. Although I want a phone that folds half the size of a normal phone, not a normal phone size that folds out to a tablet.
Samsung Fold and Pixel Fold have been getting it reliable for years now.
But if you want half size, look at the Razr and its like $500 not $2000.
They seem to hold up well enough, but I’m pretty anal about my glasses, screens, and monitors to be clean. And seeing the fold reflect light differently in the middle of the screen would not be a pleasant experience. The punchole cameras are had enough!
It would probably drive me nuts. Everyone told me: you can hardly see it. I do, it’s there, it’s always there and it will always be there.
I kinda have a feeling that when they get this folding tech working properly and affordably, it’s going to start replacing gaming consoles for the younger generation. Most people have a phone, and many people can’t afford >£1k for a console. It’s sad, IMO, but kinda predictable.
I bought a refurbished Samsung Fold 5 and I returned it after one week. A phone isn’t something that I should have to babysit.
It’s a first generation product. Remember the first Galaxy Fold and what a disaster that was? It’s kinda like that (only more expensive).
Apple should have the benefit of hindsight but apparently not.
Apple ia not brraking into a new segment with new tech like Samsung did. Foldable phones have been around long enough for them to sell a working phone.
I’m guessing Apple couldn’t really go nab engineers or use designs from the Chinese brands that also have done folding screens for a while. And I’m guessing Samsung wouldn’t want to give them without eating too much into Apple’s margins.
That’s a lot of assumptions on my part though, and you know how that goes.
It’s still the first time Apple had a go at it and its design is obviously flawed, otherwise it wouldn’t be failing so quickly.
This is hilarious to me because all I hear from Apple fanbois about why iPhones are always years behind Samsung et al on new features is because “Apple don’t release things until they work properly”
History is not on their side unfortunately.
In a way, yes. But in another way, no.
It is a first gen device, but the screen came from samsung and has been developed for a long time. Galaxy folds don’t break like this one does.
Apple made some bad choices in the design instead of building upon samsungs tried and tested design.
Galaxy folds don’t break like this one does.
Tell that to my buddy who has gone through 5 of them in as many years. I don’t understand why the phone insurance company hasn’t dropped him, he’s definitely getting the upside of that transaction.
As i have said previously, broken folding phones cannot be blamed on bad hardware if the user is careless.
And to be clear, i am not saying its impossible for them to break on their own. Of course they can, and do, but i am am saying if your friend has gone through five of them then you have to look at the lowest common denominator.
You friend needs to take better care of their £2000 information rectangle.
Remember the iPhone 6?
The first phone to perfectly bend with your butt. And it came in rose gold. It’s awesome.
This is basically a tablet people, get a dam tablet, especially one that isnt 2000 USS. 😑
As an owner of multiple galaxy folds, I really wish people that don’t see the use case would stop treating their opinion as fact.
This is a phone that folds open into a tablet.
Not “basically a tablet”
The apple one is nothing special, its essentially the same as the wide fold 8. (The one i currently use)
I have a tablet. I don’t use it. Because it is heavy, it doesn’t fit in my pocket and i can’t make phone calls on it. All the things that make a phone different to a tablet are present on my “basically a tablet”
I have a specific use case for this phone. It suits me down to the ground. I don’t pretend this phone is for everyone, but i also don’t pretend it is for no one like you have done here.
Sorry to direct this at you, but it really does trigger me when i see this type of comment.
If you don’t see it working for you then just don’t buy one. No need to throw shade because you personally don’t like them.
Personally, I want the Duo because trying to ssh into a server in Termius on my iPhone with my aging eyes is rough. This will give me a tablet’s worth of terminal screen that I can bring with me in my pocket. And if work is paying for it, why the hell not.
There are legitimate use cases. Haters just want to feel superior.
i used to be an iphone user before they went to complete bs on their phones, along with the shady politics. Looks like im triggering the fanboys with them defending a product that basically repeats every year and will break in about 1-2 years, huh?.
I did exactly this earlier when I was demoing my z fold to my nephew earlier today, it’s really nice to also have extra screen real estate for the extra modifier keys.
.ssh/config and tab autocomplete are how I manage. I do the squinting once if I can help it
So i cant throw shade at a company that supports mass consumerism and extreme unaffordable prices, with a product that has basically been the same since the iphone 13-15 but with Ai and a bigger screen?
There has to be more feaaible options than this, especially one that shouls make sense. What is the different than thw iphone 17/18 or a cyberdeck that is the same size but not evem a third of the cost of this phone?
Im not treating anything im saying as fact, just it makes no sense on the price point and mindset of where these phones are going(if you want to call it a phone at this point) . All these phablets do is just encourage consumerism and act less like a phone, i just have a problem with the company and the product, not whoever wants to use it.
You want to use it,cool, thats on you.
I didnt say you can’t throw shade at apple. I don’t buy apple products either. But you weren’t arguing that apple were a bad company. You were arguing that folding phones are basically tablets. Which they are not.
If you want to talk about how shit apple is. I am not your opponent.
I do believe there is a target audience for folding phones but if you had already "multiple of them, you don’t seem to require a device that can truly last (+5 years).
I had a fold 3 for 3 years. Swapped to a fold 6 and gave my fold 3 to my wife who had it for a further 2 years before she traded it in for a second hand fold 5. She is an official convert thanks to that fold 3.
I used the fold 6 for a year before they released the 7 which was super slim and had a wider front screen which was my only real issue with the fold series.
Since my contract has “switch up” i can swap my phone every year if i want. So when the wide 8 came out i swapped the 7 for the 8. I suspect i will keep this one for a while as its the form factor i have wanted since the 3.
The fact that i have had multiple was a testament to how useful i find the phone. It was not a statement about their durability. As long as you don’t treat your phone like shit, it will last as long as you need it to.
I see people with iphones with cracked from and backs CONSTANTLY. I guarantee that is not a person who should be carrying around a £1000 to £2000 information rectangle. The inner screen of the fold and flip are not to blame for careless people.
There are plenty of fold 3s out in the wild, even fold 2s which were not nearly as durable.
5 years for a fold3? I am impressed.
In fairness i replaced the inner screen protector once as it began to peel off in the middle. But yeah, it lasted a long time. But honestly you just need to not throw it around and it is fine.
That’s fair. It still shows how far you can get even with a foldable phone when you are taking care of it. It also shows how long these things are already on the market. Damn, time flies.
Yeah! It hurts my brain to think how many models there are of it already when it felt like 2 decades waiting for the first working folding phone after samsung showed off its flexible screens.
I’m happy you fit the niche.
I don’t. I agree with them that for the price of the folding iPhone, I already have an iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, and can take calls on all three of them. I dont care if my iPad is heavy because I have two more portable devices
You’re almost the perfect use case lol. The whole point of the fold is for people that have or want both a phone and a tablet, but only want to carry one device.
I don’t currently have an iPad. My wife does and I end up using it a lot. I want an iPad mini for the times that I want just a bit bigger screen, but I’ve held off because I don’t want another device.
So I’ve got a duo on order. 90% of the time I’ll probably have it closed. The other 10% of the time it’ll serve the use that I use my wife’s iPad for but will have my setup instead of her layout that I’m not used to lol.
A tablet can’t fit into your pocket. I’ve been using folds for the past 6 years and I’ve been very happy and can’t go back. Never had one break its screen either. 2000 USD being an insane price for one on the other hand, I can agree with.
The other interesting part to me is that most iPhone users have gotten used to using faceid. I know not everyone likes using it but it is the standard use for iPhone users. The Duo doesn’t have face ID, and switches you back to having to use touch ID on a side button like on an iPad. (I assume because they couldn’t figure out a standardized position that would work well when you are rotating/folding/unfolding whatever to that could consistently work well.
Gotten used may not necessarily mean they like it though. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a plus point for them. Heck, for me, I find the Z Fold’s power button fingerprint sensor a plus point compared to the in-screen sensors on the regular phones.
Yup. I think the old Pixel Tablet has a few years of Graphene support left. That’s seems like a good option at a much better price point, but check me on those EoL dates.
I was all set to wait for a Motorola Razr with Graphene to drop (and finally be done with Apple) until I read the iFixit tear-down of the Duo and realized that all foldables are fragile and require extra care (that I, a surfer and parent of four children, cannot guarantee). I think now I’m going to get a Fairphone 6 with /e/
sand hyper accelerated my z flip 5’s death. As much as I liked that phone, I’m not sure I’ll get a foldable again because I normally like robust phones I can keep for ages with a little care
I just want Motorola to remake the old RAZR V3xx with 5G and a decent UX.
I’d literally buy two.
Yeah, they’re nowhere near as hardy, that’s for sure. I have a galaxy Fold, took a vacation to the beach last month… basically had to leave the phone in the hotel for the entire weekend lol.
3ds FTW!!!
Yeah… Folding screens were never a good idea.
I am all about trying new stuff though. Remember when phones had cool gimmicks? Now they are all exactly the same damn thing. Shit, even my old Samsung Galaxy whatever had an IR blaster and heart rate monitor. Now they don’t even have 3.5mm head phone jacks. Every phone is the same black rectangle. I think a phone like the one from the Spike Jonze movie “Her” would be sweet.
Gimmicks are expensive and too risky, some or all people would dismiss the product immediately. We’ll never see it anymore because we’re no fun now.
Then again, folding screens are not that different.
I keep looking at phones with IR cameras. Thermal imaging is super handy for electro/mechanical diagnostics, and some of them are under $500.
I am cautiously optimistic. Early touchscreens were pretty shit too, but they’ve been developed pretty well by now. This might be figured out in time as well.
I don’t know if they’ll ever be perfect, as it’s just a serious materials science issue to make something fold that should never show a seam, but I’d be willing to tolerate a little crease if they didn’t charge an arm and a leg and made them “reliable but eventually with a small crease.” Seems we are not there yet, but I thank the early adopters for their service.
I don’t know man. I do remember what I thought of the early touchscreens. They got scratched up by a wet fart, they were inaccurate, they were generally not great to use. But the potential was there, and everyone could see it.
Then people much smarter than you or I made better kinds of glass, more accurate capacitive sensors, etc. They can even hide fingerprint readers behind them now, which would have been inconceivable some time ago. I do believe the crease thing can be solved with enough R&D. And I do believe it will be, because unlike the stupid edge screen stuff Samsung put on their phone ca. Galaxy S7 or thereabouts, foldable screens have a clear potential to be way more than just a dumb gimmick that nobody really cares about.
This is just on Apple. Samsung has been selling Folds for 8 years now and the current iterations hardly have these issues. Is it more fragile than a regular screen? For sure. But is it fragile that it breaks from regular use? No. I’ve been using foldables for 6 years and none of them broke like this.
I don’t know how anyone can say this with a straight face.
I have been using folding phones exclusively for years and they are excellent.
It isn’t for everyone, but they are really good for many people.
I’d like a folding phone that runs Linux as a laptop alternative
I had some issues with a Fold3 and had it replaced for some micro-cracks showing down the middle of the crease, but now I’m beating the shit out of a fold 7 and it’s been perfect for a year so far.
apple got something wrong with the hinge design here, you’d think they’d get it right after holding off on folders this long though.
Apple is slow on everything and manages to act like they’re top shelf.
To be fair, being behind the curve and then coming into the market and refining that Model T into a Rolls Royce is a time honored business model. But the tricky part is to come out with an actual Rolls Royce without a hiccup.
Apple missed the mark here.
These Folds are built like tanks (relative to the complexity). The engineering is really impressive.
Hello its me, the ghost of utter shock and surprise.
Ha ha you’ve been bambolzled.
It is I, the ghost of sarcasm and Easily forseen circumstances.
I’m surprised it became a noticeable problem this quickly. I was gonna give it a few more months before the failures started happening.
