The problem with foldable phones • Hacker News Board

Re: The problem with foldable phones

#31

Post by nathcun » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 4:45 PM UTC

criddell wrote: post #28

buckminster wrote: post #14

The ISO paper sizes are a practical example of how you halve the area while preserving the aspect ratio.

Is aspect ratio all that important? I think articles like this one show a lack of imagination. When I think about folded stuff in my life, I immediately think of a newspaper or a road map. I'd love a display that I can fold an arbitrary number of times to get the size that makes sense for what I'm looking at and where I am.

I'm not saying "aspect ratios don't work, therefore the whole thing's a bust", just that we should expect that one or other of the devices will be quite a bit different from what we normally see.

Re: The problem with foldable phones

#32

Post by criddell » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 4:49 PM UTC

nathcun wrote: post #31

criddell wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is aspect ratio all that important? I think articles like this one show a lack of imagination. When I think about folded stuff in my life, I immediately think of a newspaper or a road map. I'd love a display that I can fold an arbitrary number of times to get the size that makes sense for what I'm looking at and where I am.

I'm not saying "aspect ratios don't work, therefore the whole thing's a bust", just that we should expect that one or other of the devices will be quite a bit different from what we normally see.

There already are multi-screen devices. I could see a foldable screen being put on a Lenovo Yoga Book and not changing it all that much.

Re: The problem with foldable phones

#33

Post by nathcun » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 5:13 PM UTC

criddell wrote: post #32

nathcun wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not saying "aspect ratios don't work, therefore the whole thing's a bust", just that we should expect that one or other of the devices will be quite a bit different from what we normally see.

There already are multi-screen devices. I could see a foldable screen being put on a Lenovo Yoga Book and not changing it all that much.

The Lenovo Yoga Book is quite different in the sense that the multi-screens are never really viewed as a single form. One screen is more of an input device, while the other is what we would usually see as a screen. I'm not saying that the foldable phone can't do this, just that it's very different from a "phone that folds out to have a bigger screen for watching media" device that I've seen people expect these foldable phones to be.

Re: The problem with foldable phones

#34

Post by pjc50 » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 6:15 PM UTC

You could make a similar argument about the notch, because now the screen isn't even properly rectangular - but that didn't stop it taking off and even being added cosmetically to phones that don't require it.

Let's not forget that smartwatches are popular despite being square.

All sorts of things could be tried. The 16:9 screen that folds to 8:9 could be like the Motorola Razr? Or you could fold it on the other axis to produce something like the Nokia communicator?

Hell, why not have two folds? Popup book mechanics?

Re: The problem with foldable phones

#35

Post by nathcun » Fri, Nov 09, 2018, 7:16 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #34

You could make a similar argument about the notch, because now the screen isn't even properly rectangular - but that didn't stop it taking off and even being added cosmetically to phones that don't require it. Let's not forget that smartwatches are popular despite being square. All sorts of things could be tried. The 16:9 screen that folds to 8:9 could be like the Motorola Razr? Or you could fold it on the other axis…

Maybe my wording wasn't great, I didn't want to say the folding itself is a problem, the problem is that the aspect ratios of the two are dependent on each other, making unusual solutions like you mentioned necessary. Not that that's a bad thing, but it is something that will require some creativity that we don't need to consider normally.

Re: The problem with foldable phones

#36

Post by PhasmaFelis » Sat, Nov 10, 2018, 12:22 AM UTC

arbitrage wrote: post #13

nathcun wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm saying it's irreconcilable that the phone be like phones we know now (18:9, minimum bezels), and the tablet be like tablets we know now (18:9, minimum bezels). If we have either form conform to what we know now, the other must be very different.

Sorry, I am just not convinced of the soundness of your argument.

You're not convinced that 2*9/18 != 18/9?

I think you may be seeing a different argument than OP was making.

Re: The problem with foldable phones

#37

Post by PhasmaFelis » Sat, Nov 10, 2018, 12:25 AM UTC

Any chance it could have multiple hinges?

A 16:9 (~1.78) phone, unfolded twice like a letter, would produce a 27:16 (~1.69) tablet. That seems pretty reasonable on both ends.

Re: The problem with foldable phones

#38

Post by ghostly_s » Mon, Nov 12, 2018, 3:11 PM UTC

nathcun wrote: post #18

mxwsn wrote: post #11

"Ok, so let’s try instead to build the device from a tablet perspective. I’m going to make one basic assumption: the tablet screen is primarily for watching TV/film. I’m sure people will find other uses, but in terms of mass appeal, surely that must be its purpose?" Is it just me or are square-ish resolutions pretty common and popular on tablets? Just look at any iPad, the screen ratio is ~1.3 or 1.4 to 1. I think th…

As I mentioned a 1:1 screen (if you want to watch your content in an assumed 18:9 native content) will at most take up half of the tablet screen. Meaning your content will be shown at exactly the same size as the phone screen, just rotated. Under the assumption that the tablet screen is just for media consumption this gives no benefit.

> Under the assumption that the tablet screen is just for media consumption

Why are you making this assumption?