Personally for me; they’re something I hard pass on.

Foldables have breakable mechanical parts, unwieldy software support, janky resolutions, break easily, are difficult to encase protectively, tend to be prone to sudden screen failures at the substrate (LCD/OLED) layers, and are largely still an immature technology that hasn’t yet filled any niche need that I have.

I am more happy with screens that I can feel assured can possibly survive an appropriate impact and behaves like a properly hardened mineral (Mohs Hardness 7 or better) like modern screen glass typically should be. My phone should withstand occasional accidental impacts and incidents.

That expectation isn’t because I’m careless. It’s because I am an overabundance of careful. I deeply appreciate, value and enjoy the confidence provided by my phone being sturdy enough to survive the very occasional and casual mishaps that tend to occur. I do not like purchasing cheaply made devices typically. For smartphones; it feels like you need the device to have an actual lifespan; one should never need to replace their phone more frequently than once every 3 years; unless the phone itself breaks, or becomes obsolete due to cellular network technology upgrades.

Meh.

Now, show me a phone with a good physical keyboard, like my old Droid 3 had, and then you’ve got my attention!

I bought a foldable phone (Galaxy Flip) for the gimmick, but having used it now for a half a year, it’s really grown on me, and I’ve actually found the folding features to be quite invaluable.

One nicety of the folding screen is in being able to quickly see notifications without opening the phone (and thereby being tempted to browse/procrastinate) — with my folded phone, I can quickly hold it in my palm and glance at the time and any notifications.

Another benefit of the smaller form factor is being easier to fit the phone into my pockets — as phone sizes became larger, I was progressively having harder time finding clothes with large enough pockets for my phone. With the folding phone, I can comfortably fit the phone into my pocket, while still having a larger screen when I need it. It also makes it easier to take my phone with me while running, as I can fold it and place it into my running pouch — a larger phone might fit, but the volume would no doubt be uncomfortable against my body as I move.

Bear in mind, I’m referring here to a folding model which folds into a small square and thus has a smaller area — even I don’t fully see the benefits of the larger-form-factor folding phones.

Currently, I feel that it’s mostly a gimmick. However, I’m glad that they exist as they’ll just continue to get thinner and thinner to the point where they’re no longer a gimmick and many people will want them.

I bought a Flip 4 last October. While I liked a lot of stuff about it I was anxious about keeping it as my main driver for the next 3-4 years.

Aside from the fear of the folding mechanism wearing down heavily over the years, I was disappointed by small quality stuff such as those plastic bumpers at the bottom bezel of the screen that fell off after a few months. Other than that, the battery was small for such a big phone, 3700 mah for a 6.7 inch phone while unfolded, so the battery life wasn’t that good, the camera experience was a bit mediocre, there are only two camera lens on the back, none of which are zoom lens just doesn’t do it for me. There’s also the thing of having to open the phone and close it everytime which was annoying.

I didn’t think I could sell it, especially when the small coverscreen was cracked or scratched (I couldn’t tell which at the time) . Anyway, some retail chain offered trade ins for a list of phones including mine, while they didn’t offer much for it on paper and in reality, I reckoned there’s no other way I could rid of it in it’s state and because it’s a foldable and people would be wary of buying it used. So I took the hit, lost much of what I paid for it and traded it in for the regular S23.

As I said I liked so much stuff about it, especially the coverscreen and clutching it while folded felt nice, I also miss the sidekey fingerprint scanner but I regret buying the phone since I was clearly not the target audience, also the technology hasn’t yet matured and many of the issues I mentioned may be resolved in future iterations.

Hence, after all, I should’ve just waited for the S23 Ultra.

It’s really cool technology, even in the early stages. In the not too distant future though, when I see a person take a giant display, fold it up, and put it in their pocket, they’ll have my undivided attention

(ﾟ◯ﾟ)

As a repair technician, I would stay well away from foldables (the durability/parts availability ratio being my main concern). I have to say, though, the massive nerd in me is not happy at all…

I think they are an awesome concept, and I can see how certain people could really take advantage of the larger screen and better multitasking.

Personally the things stopping me are

• Plastic screens. I already scratch my glass ones.
• Cost. In Canada they are 2x more than a regular flagship.
• Worse front screen. I just know I’ll get lazy with the folding aspect quickly, and I’ll just be using a worse front screen the majority of the time.

One of the largest upsides I see, though, is the fact you can use the rear cameras as front facing cameras. That’s pretty wild and opens up WAY better selfies and video calls.

Honestly, i find them kinda dumb. But they hint at the idea of a phone you can fold into the shape of a paperplane. So im on the lookout for any breakthrough in that area.

i like my Fold 4 but i’m also a nerd that likes silly toys. it’s nice to have a phone that just feels different. plus it lets me read manga and stuff a lot easier

I’ve had two flip phones and I have loved them both, but both of them have had minor splintering appear on the screen at the hinge and it seems like once that starts your warranty is void because they refuse to cover their own manufacturing defect, and for that reason I wouldn’t buy another folding phone for a while, until the technology has matured. I do love my flip phone, it’s the most fun I’ve had with a smartphone and it’s a great conversation starter. Being able to take selfies with the outer camera and outer screen as a viewfinder is very nice too.

Their a cool idea but until we can figure exactly how to fold it without it creating other issues they arent going to be very practical not to mention the durability issue

Repairabilty and durability are more important to me. AFAIK none of the folding phones are particularly repairable or durable.

@spoonful
I think it’s a fun gimmick for people who want to play with it. I’m not even remotely interested in owning one.

I have an old cheap smartphone that I have wanted to replace for many years now. But any time I check the market it has been mostly more boring phones bloated with features and hardware that I care nothing for. The only thing that actually has me a bit excited are foldable or rollables, though I’m stuck in a endless “just wait one more generation” loop. I am gonna have to break it soon.