Foldable Phones; Gimmick Or The Future?

Just when we think phones can no longer get any more unique, Huawei and Samsung introduced the first foldable smartphone with the Huawei Mate X and Samsung Galaxy Fold shaking the tech world in 2019. Only ever imagined in movies, the Mate X and Galaxy Fold is something tangible that people can see and touch.

But with every first ground-breaking innovation, there is a downside. The disastrous first batch review of the Samsung Fold (the screen glitches) has confirmed sceptics’ thoughts that the technology is just not ready. The crease on the Fold is also very noticeable and it doesn’t help that the price is super expensive.

The only upside of getting a foldable phone are just bragging rights and a super large screen. Then came the Motorola Razr that folds just like your classic 2005 phones instead of sideways like the Galaxy Fold and Mate X. A few months later, the Samsung Galaxy Z flip is released. While all these phones did not do well in the market, for obvious reasons, it is just a statement product that the manufacturers introduced to show that they are making progress.

The question now, however, do we really need folding phones? The form factor on phones now is fine as it is.  Are folded thicker phones the way to go now? That may be suited for your personal preference. But as far as I’ve observed, no one has complained that their phone’s form factor as of now. The Galaxy Fold and Mate X are very heavy compared to our phones now which brings up the next question.

Larger screens, is it worth carrying extra weight? While Motorola Razr and the Z flip screen sizes and probably weight are similar to our phones in our pocket, the Mate X and the Galaxy Fold has massive screens. When folded, the Galaxy Fold has a thin screen that just looks disgusting. But we’re here to talk about the larger screen. Could you really imagine yourself holding those phones one-handed? Sure, on your couch at home it’s fine. But to daily drive a phone that large is just ridiculous.

The dealbreaker of them all, the crease. I know, the technology is not perfected yet. Unfortunately, as far as we know, folding phones will always have a crease present. There seemed to be no way around it at the moment. While it is reported the crease is not as obvious on the Mate X and Galaxy Fold, it is significantly obvious on the Galaxy Z flip. At almost the cost of a laptop, is it really worth paying to be distracted by such a distracting flaw?

The technology on folding phones is still new and expensive. As much as innovations and technological advancements are encouraged, folding phones at this time just seems to be a gimmick that just can’t be seen to be applied practically for the foreseeable future on our smartphones.