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The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

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Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#91
post #54
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only way this could be worse is if they started exploding, too. Give it a few months. This is like a 1980s plastic lunch box. The moulded hinge always snapped in half after about 3 months regardless of what you did. Cue optimus prime letting your lunch out all over the floor. I think they are failing because it was a fucking stupid idea. Edit: If anything I want NO mechanical components on any handheld device I…

It's a valid point, if a bit grumpy: The big deal about smartphones is that in various different ways, they were able to replace the mechanical with the electrical, and replace physical design with software-based design. (Don't like where that button is? Tweak the code. Type of thing.) Adding a hinge is in some ways a step backward. I also agree with your grandparent comment though, that it's a bold idea and a neat g…

Folding screens can certainly enabled more software based design. Its obviously a really exciting new form factor considering how prominent folding screens have been in sci fi. We all really want to have Westworld level tech. Even though we are still a ways away, its awesome to know that its becoming possible.

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#92
post #4

Even if the Fold has some problems, I commend them for being bold with their design and ambitions. It may be safer to wait for the next generation of that phone, but many recent developments in the hardware space have been lacking in ambition. Kudos to Samsung

I am sure all of those people with broken phones are appreciative of how "bold" Samsung has been in releasing this phone early. Personally I prefer the Apple approach with new products e.g. iPhone, iPad, Watch which is to have largely perfected the hardware before shipping but release it with MVP software which they aggressively improve.

Except for the MacBook Pro version whose logic board failed, and the iBooks who plastic cases cracked and peeled.

About half of Apple products have serious hardware design flaws.

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#95
post #4

Even if the Fold has some problems, I commend them for being bold with their design and ambitions. It may be safer to wait for the next generation of that phone, but many recent developments in the hardware space have been lacking in ambition. Kudos to Samsung

It may be "bold", but is it a design that makes any sense beyond a short-lived sales-boosting novelty?

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#96

Huawei previously mentioned that they started with the same concept as Samsung, but ditched the idea after they found numerous drawbacks. Looks like this might be that https://www.businessinsider.com/huawei-prototyped-folding-ph...

Didn't Huawei steal this tech from Samsung in the first place? Or was there more to this story?

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/30/tech/samsung-china-tech-t...

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#97
post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only way this could be worse is if they started exploding, too. Give it a few months. This is like a 1980s plastic lunch box. The moulded hinge always snapped in half after about 3 months regardless of what you did. Cue optimus prime letting your lunch out all over the floor. I think they are failing because it was a fucking stupid idea. Edit: If anything I want NO mechanical components on any handheld device I…

> "Edit: If anything I want NO mechanical components on any handheld device I own because in the last 40 years of my life everything has broken mechanically eventually." your anecdote seems to suffer from cognitive bias. screens are non-mechanical (except in this galaxy fold) and yet they're still the most broken component in a phone.

Well... Followed by buttons and charging ports. Y'know, the remaining mechanical parts. Perhaps the distinction is wearing out vs sudden damage.

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're going for clamshell, I think I might prefer a Psion 5 type of device.

In case anyone hasn't seen it already - Planet Computers have built an android device explicitly inspired by old Psion devices and by the same industrial designer as the Psion Revo - https://planetcom.squarespace.com/ By most accounts its a brilliant device. If it came with a stylus like the Note or the old Psion 5, I would probably have bought one already.

Looks pretty nice.

I'd never buy one because they just aren't going to be as good at security as Google or Apple, but the design is good.

Re: The Samsung Galaxy Fold's display seems to have problems

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My guess is it helps people who don't like large phones (in terms of surface area) in their clothes pockets. Sure it'll be thicker, and maybe some people have an issue with that, but it would potentially fit better in some situations while still unfolding to a larger screen size for regular use.

For comfort in pockets, volume might be a better measure. The Samsung Fold is a bit less than twice the volume of an iPhone XS Max, which itself falls pretty solidly in phablet territory from the perspective of people who don't like large phones. My guess is that it's for people who want "phablet" to be a realistic description of their phone instead of a hyperbolic one.

Volume matters, but only after device fits in your pocket in the first place which is mostly based on one dimension or maybe two.
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