Android

I like the idea, but they're way out of my price range and easier to break too.

I've owned the Samsung fold2 & 3. Personally to me they are cool phones. However they just aren't made to last, and that's not the only problem. Realistically they are heavier, bulkier and have less specs than the top end smartphones. I found that each time I was holding it, I would rather be holding a normal phone just because my arms would get tired, it felt finicky to be holding such a large screen in public situations. It has its perks when sitting down in a plane, shopping mall, train. But again you could have an even larger screen and more power of you just brought a laptop. What makes me enjoy these products is the fact I've been dreaming about foldables since I was a kid, and that never disappears.

I'm so two minds about it. On one hand it's an incredibly stupid idea (reliability, extra screen/cameras, two batteries...), but at the same time it's really a marvel of technology and a real miracle that they actually make it work.

I can imagine a Razr in my distant future if Moto survives and doesn't get shittier. Altho I'll probably still prefer other aspects to a foldable screen.

foldables are really cool but pretty fragile

Bah. I just want one of these.

I tried the Fold3, and had it back under warranty 3 times, until Samsung opted to replace it. They replaced it with a Fold4 (which was nice) in beige (which wasn't nice).

So I sold it and got a Pixel 7 Pro, and I couldn't be happier.

Honestly, foldable screen tech still needs a lot more maturity, IMHO. It was actually a relief to switch back to a phone where my heart didn't miss a beat every time I opened it, or heard the creak/crack sound when closing it. It was honestly pretty stressful, wondering if each day was the day I'd join the long list of people with busted screens through no fault of their own.

Cool gimmick, but I’m gonna wait till all the kinks are worked out (or at least, all the major ones). Right now, I just don’t care enough to buy an unreliable phone with a hinge.

Dumb. But I also thought smartphones without keyboards were dumb and look where we are now.

I like the concept, but I don't think we have endurable hardware for that yet... And I can't afford them anyway.

I just hope they don't end up like many of those interesting Android promises that go nowhere.

I used to have a clam phone when I was a kid and I love the idea of a foldable phone now.

But I wouldn't buy one any time soon - the idea of a hinged phone and screen just sounds far to vulnerable to wear and tear. As soon as you start adding moving parts you increase the risk of failure.

It's a great concept but at the moment it's a superfluous luxury and as they're so expensive then the cost of a breakage is just too much to tolerate. As the technology and manufacturing improves and/or becomes cheaper I might get one. But at present I don't want to risk buying a very expensive phone that could break in such a basic way as a hinged phone and folding screen could.

Google's Pixel Fold is pretty much what I'd like to see in a folding phone, whereas Samsung's extremely tall aspect ratio is a bit too thin for one-handed use.

Other competitors have figured out the formula for something that works well open and closed, so for the Fold type devices I'd like to see Samsung improve on the design and squish it a little, especially because it is so thick when folded.

Flip-style devices on the other hand, those are immediately cool. If the Z Flip had similar cameras to the S23, I would have considered holding out for one. The battery life on the S23 is what won me over.

Never used a foldable phone. Looks cool, but too bad its not dust resistant and the curved display is very weak against scratches. A hinge in a phone just further shorten it's lifespan. I wouldn't use them until it's not only water-resistant, but also dust proof, and the hinge better outlast the lifespan of the rest of the phone. Considering the high price and also comes with so much drawbacks, they aren't for the average person. It's a rich person's toy.

I have not personally used a phone with a folding screen, but I work in customer service and I know our tech team has replaced a lot of them where the screen gets a crease in the middle or comes unlamented.

Honestly though the foldables seem kind of pointless to me. It gives a slightly larger screen that's really of no use unless your phone is the only thing you use to watch movies/game on. It's really more of a status symbol than anything else.

I'm sure someone will eventually come up with a more useful and innovative way of using foldable screen technology, but this is not it.

I do not have a need for so much real estate on my mobile device. Nor do I want to carry anything thicker than a phone in my pocket. I use my Galaxy S20 Ultra which serves me well on the go and I my laptop if I want to look at something on a larger screen while I am home.

I am currently using a Galaxy Fold 3.

I'm torn between "I can never go back to a normal phone this is amazing" and "this is fragile and has crap battery and a normal phone would be better".

I am a marine scientist and need a phone that can perform in the field. I know the new foldables are water resistant, but I would be worried about salt and grit getting up in that hinge and messing stuff up. So I don't think they're for me, though I'd really like to have one. My Note 20 Ultra is too small to comfortably jot notes on honestly.

I like the concept but I need durability.

I bought a Z Fold 2 in 2020 and still use it today. Battery life is great, screens are still great (both outer and inner). I always have a cheap case for it that covers the front screen. I have dropped it twice outside on the concrete ground and the cheap case broke, but NOT the phone, so I just bought another case each time--to me, that's what the cheap case is for. I really like it and will probably get another version at some point, but here are my main takeaways:

• Outer screen is very slim (think almost TV remote-sized). I have gotten used to it but God forbid you hand it to someone else to type on, they always say it's too small

• It's too long for my pockets, but I'm a woman that wears women's clothes, and our pockets are too damn small for anything, so I have to carry it in my purse

• The screen protectors it comes with do start to fray at the edges over time, but I have never had it bubble up at the folding point/crease on the inner screen

• If you are not known for being delicate with your phone, this is not the phone for you. If you work outdoors regularly, have a tendency to drop your phone regularly, etc, don't buy this

• It's expensive

• Not all apps are compatible with the big screen so sometimes you're stuck with the small screen view on the big inner screen

• Having a portable tablet is great! I got rid of my tablet when I bought this phone and have no regrets

• It's great for driving when using Google Maps or whichever driving app you choose. Having the big screen makes it so much easier to see the directions

• Any video looks better on the big screen

• I have used the big screen to view maps I downloaded for hiking

I like glass screens with an anti-glare screen protector on it.

The foldables I've seen use glossy, soft plastic screens.

We're already off on a bad start.

These things are becoming softer, more fragile, and more disposable, all the while going up up up in price.

When I see a review for a device that can be permanently damaged with just a fingernail and is frail enough to snap in half if folded the wrong way - all the while costing way more than a regular phone, I don't know if I'd feel comfortable using it. I already get uncomfortable handing my "normal" phone to someone to see, especially a kid.

expensive, and not worth the change from regular phones

Too breaky

If the price was max $1k, folding vertically and not a Samsung then I would get it. I got my self a tablet because I read and watch YouTube a lot. I rather have one device than two. So when I saw the new pixel did I get hyped then I saw the price...

I'd love one. Preferably the opens-like-a-book style, not the vertical ribbon.

But I don't want to carry around something that costs that much. They're currently priced for someone with way more money.

(Context I uses to repair phones for everyone's favorite insurance company Asurion, so my perspective is more about the physical device and components)

I fucking hate them. Super fragile AND super expensive. Not to mention if you have one and the screen protector get damaged manufacturers warranty only covers 1 replacement. Fixing that inner screen out of pocket is around $600-$700 which at that point is just buying an entirely new note or S-series phone. The only nice thing I can say is that the 4 Gen flips and folds are a bit sturdier than the first generation, so they are improving over time. Maybe by the fold 7 it will be in a place where consumers can buy and repair them for reasonable prices, but right now I always advise people to stay away.

Like ‘fetch’ they’re never going to happen

As someone who Had a Nintendo DS and 3DS it certainly seems like a cool idea but they also had the problem of the hinges breaking rendering them useless, this is much worse on the folding phones where the display itself bends in half and can literally wear out just from opening and closing, rendering the phone next to useless, the DS handheld gaming systems didn't even have that problem.

For that reason I really don't like them and can't really get behind them. I prefer my devices to last to obsolescence (a ripe old age) and be durable, folding screen phones are not that whatsoever. If I wanted a bigger screen I'd rather just have a bigger phone honestly, or be able to dock it in a laptop like enclosure.

Honestly im considering buying one Just for the gimkick factor alone. I do like phones that have some gimmick. About the actual usefulness of said gimmick. Well i bought note once for the gimmick alone. Have i ever used the pencil. Only for solving nonograms. Nothing more. Folding phones gimmick on the other hand seems to be way better than the note gimkick, particualry the fold series, flips are questionable alghtough arguably they Look more cool. But the durability of both seems sketchy at Best, especialy since my notę 4 is still used in my family by my grandma and it still feels snapy to use.

So would i buy one. Not really. The thing with my old note 4 was that i managed to buy it used for a very reasonable price and im not sure i would touch used folding phone with a 3 feet pole, and a full priced 1000$ phones are a scam as far as i am concerned. If you want fun gimmick i Would honestly recomend rog phone 6 instead ( cool, should be reasonably priced, fun aestethic ) or a hopefully soon to be fairphone 5 (i never thought i would call removable battery a gimmick but here we are in 2023) . But If you swim in money by any means buy a flip or fold,why not.

I'm using a Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 after my Fold 3's inside screen protector separated. Luckily I bought it through T-Mobile and for an upgrade.

I like wowing people by using it like a regular phone and suddenly opening it up to a small tablet. Some people can't wait to get "the Apple version" but I'll let them wait wait for the future while I enjoy this phone.

I do switch between other Android "slab phones", but I guess I go back to a folding phone because I get to carry a small tablet with me without having a second device.

As with a lot of the negatives (including price), they will improve as time goes on,but to a large degree I see foldable as a fun engineering exercise to look at, but mostly pointless for the time being. I especially find it ridiculous when a foldable is 2x as thick as a regular phone and reviewers act like it's magically half the size when you close it. You're sacrificing height for thickness, but the volume is almost the exact same as a regular device.

As someone who loves the large screen of my tablet, I like the idea of a foldable, but they are a long way away from mass adoption.

I'm skeptical how well the screen holds up at the hinge, so I guess I'm not an early adopter. Show me one a year old that's had the same cheap screen protector on the entire time - if it still looks good I might consider it. Otherwise I don't see a reason to upgrade.

My gf wanted one because the flips fold down small, but if you ever go on eBay, you'll see the screens are pretty shitty still. Maybe we'll get her one in a few years from now when they've had time to really, truly iron out all the kinks.

I love the idea of them but not at that price point unfortunately

I use the Fold 4 and I love it. I don't think I could ever go back to using a nonfoldable. I never notice the crease during use unless I run my finger across it. In terms of durability, it's been great. I dropped my phone many times onto concrete and no issues at all. The only problem I have is with the screen protector for the folding screen. Mine is already peeling after around a year of use and it's a pain to get it replaced. You can't really do it yourself and you need to make an appointment at a repair shop to do it. At least it's free.

If they can somehow shove in an spen I'd be sold.

Damn spen has me hooked on Samsung. Its such a killer feature that is so underused by the masses.

Only yesterday did it bail me out of a password issue on my Jap PlayStation account via its translation feature. Totally seamless.

But yah, needs internal housing since I choose to not rock a case.

As soon as I realised that fold phones existed, I had to own one. My preferred phone is a phablet, but the size makes them non feasible for day to day use. Fold phones solve that problem nicely. I don't think I can go back.

If it doesn't make a neat noise when I flip it open like a Star Trek communicator I'm not interested.