Being the age I am, I’m just old enough to remember flip-phones.
A relatively simple concept that has been on my mind lately for reasons I’ll get to. Widely considered obsolete unless you just want a cheap phone to make calls etc., these phones featured a screen on one side, a keypad on the other, with a hinge joint between the two.
The reason that this device has been dragged back to the front of my brain in recent weeks is because I am reminded of them every time I see this:
To be clear: I’m aware that this foldable iphone is not the first foldable modern smartphone (I know Samsung released them years ago also).
But I’m also left wondering: what is the point? I think I can perfectly understand the use of flip phones as they were when they were popular, but foldable phones I just can’t see the benefit. As far as I can see, these foldable type of phones offer little to no benefit that you couldn’t get from, say a regular iPhone or Samsung phone, in terms of the consumer and how they are used in general life. I get that the hardware/software may be different, but that’s not going to be a factor in most people’s daily lives (you’re not going to care about the type of core, or the screen resolution when you make a phone call, etc.) It seems like it’s more of a gimmick from the companies making them to try and make more sales, but even if that’s the case, the product must have something unique to offer, so what is it about foldable phones that are so unique besides the gimmick of folding?
I must say I think your comment is the one that makes most sense to me, especially since the rest of the comment section seems divided between ardently gimmick, and super useful for whatever personal reason.
That, I think, explains the crux of why it’s such a debate: if the folding feature (or the few other features that the folding phones have, like dual apps, bigger size etc.) aren’t useful to some, then they aren’t useful to them, and those people who don't find those features useful will simply not see the benefits/reasons to buy. The same is true for the opposite: people who do find value in the few unique features do see the benefit. Now that might seem like a statement of the obvious, but I think it highlights a key point: it’s a polarising issue with no middle ground, really — you weather see reasons to buy/use one, or you don’t. But there aren’t really a kind of gray area where people might say ‘well it’s not that useful, but I’ll buy one anyway…’
That said, I still don’t quite understand why these foldable phones are mass marketed towards everyone, rather than specifically targeting the niche audience…