I like foldables, but I won't be getting another one until Samsung and other OEMs dramatically overhaul their design and durability. When a ribbon connector went bad, they required repair companies to replace the two screens and hinge, a $600 repair on a phone worth $400. The ribbon connector is a 20Β’ component, if that. I ended up getting a Motorola on sale for $250 that can do most of what high end flagships can do.
this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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I'm not sure why some journalists are still conflating the two styles of folding phones after so many years, particularly when it comes to their issues. Flip phones are much cheaper and more durable (relative to the larger book-style foldables) and it's no surprise that they are selling better. They also offer a solution to the market problem of phones increasing significantly in size whilst also decreasing significantly in size variety. The larger book-style foldables are really the ones we should be questioning, considering their price, durability issues and lack of a clear reason to exist.
lack of a clear reason to exist
Isn't the reason that you can have a big screen which you can fit in your pocket?
That concept doesn't seem to appeal to anyone beyond the stereotypical "gadget geek" influencers on YouTube, who in some cases aren't even paying for these devices. Most people don't work on their phones, nor do they want to. Most people also don't have the time or the need for a larger screen that they can carry around everywhere. If they want to use a larger touchscreen device, for common use cases like watching videos or drawing, they want to be doing it for longer periods in a relaxed environment. In which case, there is no reason to buy one of these expensive folding phones over a tablet with a usable aspect ratio and a vastly superior screen that doesn't have a giant crease down the middle.
Phones have been getting bigger over the years because people want to see more (whether for video, games, or just reading), the limit is that most people don't want to lug a tablet around with them. A folding phone that provides a bigger screen and fits in your pocket doesn't seem like a crazy concept to me, that's why I'd quite like one (though I can't justify the cost).
Sure, it's a fun thought bubble. I'm still not convinced it's anything more than that at the moment (and the abysmal sales appear to back that up). Apple's hesitance to enter the market also speaks volumes.
I assume low sales are because they're ludicrously expensive, which makes sense for early technology. Apple are generally slow to adopt new things, they like quite a lot of polish (and to come up with some marketing so that they can claim they invented it!)
The larger book-style foldables are really the ones we should be questioning, considering their price, durability issues and lack of a clear reason to exist.
I am not sure I agree.
Back in 2014/2015, we still used the term "phablet", fast-forward ~10 years and almost all smartphones have become "phablets" with compact devices (what would be a regular device in 2014) have become extremely niche.
I've only used the book-style foldables in a Samsung showroom, they seemed fine, just very expensive.
The price should eventually come down.
Which bit do you disagree with? People have been saying this about the price for 6 years now. "Oh the price will come down when the technology stabilises". Yet book style foldables in the West have had very little in the way of innovation now for several generations and they're still the most expensive phones by far.
As you point out, all phones are large now. So is there really a sizeable corner of the market out there for an even bigger (but not as big as a tablet and in a weird aspect ratio) phone? Compact devices are niche, true, but niches sell because they are catering to a small corner of the market. Book-style foldables don't even appear to have a niche audience after 6 years.
Depends on the currency you're looking at. In Bitcoin and Monero terms, almost everything has gone down in price.
I could see book-style foldables becoming more popular if the pride goes down, I thought they were useful in showroom testing.
But you are right, prices are still very high.
Well, I like my Fold.