After years of being hailed as the next best thing, foldable smartphones are finally hitting the market – albeit a niche and expensive market! The leader is Korea’s Samsung which launched a series of TV ads mostly featuring its Galaxy Z Fold 5 this summer. Other players such as Motorola, Google and Oppo have new models on offer…but What has happened to Apple’s folding iPhone? https://www.techradar.com/best/best-foldable-phones
On Thursday 7th September we looked at some of the hype.
In 2021, foldable phones were seen as a bit of a disappointment: “Turns out foldable phones are just another huge letdown” https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/turns-out-foldable-phones-are-just-another-huge-letdown/ “But beyond the bending screen, they haven’t really pushed any boundaries. They haven’t changed the way we use our phones or brought any revolution that’s so groundbreaking that it alters the face of mobile altogether. They use the same version of Android, with only a few small tweaks to some apps to give a bit of additional functionality, but little beyond that. Really, they’re the same phone as before, but you can fold them in half. I find it very telling that I have the Galaxy Fold and Z Flip in my house, but they’re in a drawer among other past phones, and I don’t have any great desire to get them out again.“
..but something has changed since then – JCC members knew of three people who owned flip phones. There are some good ones around – but they are still expensive at around €1200
Chris first looked at the Samsung TV adverts to try and figure out what was new…
Foldables: Samsung Ad 11 months ago – clever! – The ad is all about things that fold in our daily lives:
Samsung Galaxy: Join the flip side
… Advertising blitz 1 month ago:
Galaxy Z Flip5: Official Film | Samsung
Strapline — Don’t to wish your phone was ….. like this?
Galaxy Z Flip5 | Watch6: Ecosystem Film | Samsung
Features of the Flip phone with a smartwatch (However they don’t seem to have been pushing this combination much..)
Samsung Galaxy : Join the flip side – Season 2
This is definite Marketing aimed at Gen Z iPhone users in 2023
“The “vintage” clamshell design of the flip phone has the potential to pique the interest of Gen Z users, most of whom are largely loyal iPhone users, according to a Financial Times report from February. There’s also some anecdotal evidence to suggest that some teens are already ditching their smartphones in favour of “dumb” old-school flip phones, according to CNN and other media reports. The Z Flip 5 offers the best of both worlds — the nostalgic look and feel of yesterday’s tech, with the cutting-edge features of today’s.” https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/will-gen-z-buy-into-flip-phones-samsungs-z-flip-5-aims-to-find-out/
…advert blurb…Determined to never switch, a group of friends attempt to escape without seeing one. However, they soon discover that the very thing they fear most is actually the thing they want the most.
Will they be able to escape the Samsung Z Flip, or will they be possessed with its power and join the flip side? Note British accents and ethnic diversity!
Galaxy Z Fold : Official film | Samsung – The foldable (like a book) phone has been less hyped and it’s even more expensive (at around €2000) . The marketing seems to be aimed at the young , upcoming fashion conscious female professional!
A big screen you can take with you …
Here’s a measured opinion about these devices: “Samsung’s New Flip Phone Highlights the Clamshell’s Comeback” https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/samsungs-new-flip-phone-highlights-the-clamshells-comeback/
Flipping into the future
Clamshell-style phones have come a long way since the trendy gadgets first broke onto the scene in the late 1990s. Today large cover screens seem to be a design hallmark for fancy flip phones, with Samsung, Oppo, and Motorola all slapping a bigger display onto the front of their respective flippables. With that change this year, it’s hard to imagine a dramatic evolution of the flip phone design going forward — it seems to have reached a stable point.
“The hardware design and the focus on the larger cover screen is not expected to have a huge change at this stage, as there is a limitation from the hardware aspect, especially when considering that the phone battery’s shape is unlikely to have a significant breakthrough in the short term.”
The flip phone has certainly regained its cool factor, but it still has hurdles to clear before becoming mainstream. Device makers will likely focus on bringing improvements to the software and durability of their products, key areas of concern for foldables. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5, for instance, has no official IP rating for dust, meaning it can’t withstand dust ingress apart from the hinge dusters brushing particles away. That’s a lot to overlook for a $1,000 phone. Flip phones will also have to compete with established smartphones in terms of performance, price and features (better cameras, for example).
Other problems are the visible crease and bubbles in the screen protector covering the folding screen. It0s still quite fat to fir in a small pocket! Still some users find that two screen are abtter than one ….https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/new-foldable-phones-convinced-me-2-screens-are-better-than-one/
Unfortunately, the unfolded flip-phone screen is long and narrow, making it unsuitable for gaming. For this you would need a book format foldable….which is getting more refined: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-5-review-refined-not-redefined/
Watch this space it looks interesting … Will Apple soon release its own flip phone to claw back its Gen Z users? – will Samsung and the other Android manufacturers succeed in pulling the market of hip youngsters away from iphones¿ For me – I hope the foldable phones get a lot cheaper!
Christine Betterton-Jones – Knowledge junkie