But the prices are insane just now. So I am interested in this format, but not at these prices.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/17/21571056/oppo-x-2021-rol...

https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/tcl-rollable-phone-concept-...

https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/12/23205814/lg-rollable-phon...

I fully expect my next phone to be a foldable just due to this.

OTOH they have removed sensors and ports because they want to sell more watches, which is infuriating

I've started using glasses and I'm not interested at all in getting a foldable.

What I would like is something like an Ubuntu phone. And better batteries.

When you get older, you often start needing two pairs of glasses (or bifocals). One for things far away (the glasses you drive with) and one for things much closer (computer, phone, etc...).

(I don't like any kind of varifocals.)

Like even a giant iPad with a keyboard isn't productive for me. I just use my phone to check messages, read the news, etc. If I want to do something useful, I just sit down at the ultrawide and use a real OS with like four times the memory.

I played with those folding phones at the store last week and thought to myself "nah, just more shit to break. And what would I do with it anyway? Watch YouTube slightly bigger? It'd be much harder to type on too."

These kids today...might not even have a full computer at home. It is possible that they only use one at school/work. So the majority of the compute time is on a device. This is something I have to remind myself of a lot more often. The mobile first concept is real for a reason. So, just having an ultrawide and a system with an OS is pretty much on the lines of a class distinction.

But I can totally believe that for many people the phone is their only device. I still struggle to imagine what use case would be better on a slightly bigger phone, especially if it makes typing harder. I had a Steam Deck for a while and that size is similar, and it was so hard to interact with that keyboard vs a regular phone in portrait mode.

I have no issue with manufacturers trying new form factors. Somebody out there must want them. I just wish they also kept making smaller phones for the small-handed among us...

How awful. Do they play games, do work and watch TV on their phone?

The improved reading experience on a device I have all the time with me is an attractive proposition.

The disadvantages (chiefly price and weight / thickness) currently outweigh the value for me, but I hope it gets better.

Most of the world doesn't have a laptop and are not interested in getting one. Even more so when it comes to a desktop. But they would be thrilled about a device which is as easy to carry as a phone but can have as big a screen as an iPad when watching Youtube or reading news or doing a video chat. I can immediately think of at least 5-7 family members who would love this kind of device.

Exactly. I refuse to use my phone for everyday computing. The screen is too small and/or doesn't have enough pixels to display enough data at a time. I normally use a 4K screen.

I liken using a phone for everyday computing to be like using 'keyhole surgery' for surgery on the heart. You need to be able to see a job as a whole not just a tiny portion of it.

And don't get me started on how big and cumbersome today's phones are. I went though several decades where mobile phones shrank from being a heavy house brick to a 'chocolate bar' that fitted easily into a shirt pocket. Only for the progression to start going all the way back to today's monstrosities.

The market offering only bigger phones seems a bit... heavy handed? Ba-dum.

The price, weight and fragility need more iterations but it's a neat toy. I'm not sure it's for everyone but not everyone wants or needs a stylus either.

My dental hygienist whipped out a foldable phone last week to show me a picture of her granddaughter. First time I’ve seen one in the wild. There was a very distinct thick dark line/crease down the middle of the picture… it was all I could look at.

All the Samsung foldables gen 3 and above are mature tech, no longer in beta but yeah, they are way to expensive

And it really isn't "keeping up with the joneses" so much as "I'm not sure if that will be really useful" (until you see that it is actually really useful).

The platonic ideal of a foldable phone is exciting, but Android phone makers have been trying for years and the results are still a mess. I'm not holding my breath.

I would prefer a 4 inch screen but since they are a fringe market by now, I would settle with a huge foldable screen instead.

Arguably I am not buy something from Samsung because I hate all the cruft that comes with their software but I can see the appeal in such a device.

I would expect the low volume and manufacturing difficulty would make them more expensive to build

I personally would not want to carry an even bigger phone in the pocket. I have an old S7 for 5 years now and I'm not looking forward to an upgrade because even the new non-foldable Samsungs are much bulkier (and probably nowhere near as durable - the phone is tougher than a brick - fell like 10 times on the hardest surfaces with no protection and only got a few scratches on the screen that are not visible when using the phone). By the way, anyone got recommendations for a new replacement?

Five years ago I bought a Sony xperia zx1 compact, due to its form factor. I've been looking for a new phone for about a year, but all of them are too big or under powered for my liking.

To me, the alternative seems to be foldable phones.

I'll probably buy a Motorola razr 40 in the coming weeks.

Also, an iPhone is not a option.

Which is 129mm tall and has a 4.6 inches display.

Still, the Zenphone is about 15mm taller. I'll check it out. Thanks.

The Fold is more for nerds i guess. It is even foldet not small, just large if open.

Even an old-ish model of the z flip has been surprisingly durable IME, and Samsung continues to improve on the hinge and screen crease designs. The latest z flip is also in line with the price of a new iPhone. Of course Samsung now has competition from the new Razr on this front, which I've heard is very good.

As far as the z folds are concerned, it does seem more niche to me. But that's the bet that Pixel made first so I guess we'll see.

It is a good form factor. Fits in my work shirt pocket.

I do industrial IT and a metal working factory and it has survived that environment with any complaints for a year now.

Corporations are valued on growth not on sales. Any idea to grow will be evaluated over just keeping a good product.

This is why companies are betting billions on crazy ideas while their products just become worse year to year.

A CEO that says, we will keep this ship floating will be fired the next day. CEOs are selected on how much grow they promise to bring and deliver to do.

Until this changes things are just going to be getting worse, more expensive and more bloated. And there is no enough competition to create a counter to it.

Then, of course, the technology advanced (hardware and software) and my phone has replaced both my point and shoot and DSLR cameras (even if picture quality can’t quite replace good lenses and a big sensor, the convenience outweighs it, no more dragging along a big camera bag on vacation)

I’d love to have a reliable and inexpensive folding phone so I could have a big screen when I want it (like while commuting or on an airplane) but I can fold it up to a much smaller form factor when I don’t want the big screen.

It's just to nudge you towards their product when you're given the choices.

I think the parent is asking who wants the folding phone of today, and, by extension, why is the strategy of a large organisation relying on this market?

The answer to that is simple -- the people that are buying it.

You don't get the folding phone of tomorrow without first getting the folding phone of today, and some people want it badly enough that they are willing to pay a premium and suffer through its technological shortcomings.

I don't own one, but having seen colleagues use them I plan to get one once it stops costing and arm and a leg.

OK, that was 1997, and it's been done better since then (Minority Report and others...: [1]). But people want the big screen with a tiny carry.

[1]: https://www.theverge.com/2018/11/14/18088620/samsung-foldabl...