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Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

bbc.com

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Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#111

Post by sleepybrett »

consp wrote: post #4

While not directly comparable, the flexible flat cables in flip phones took years to be 'good' enough to last the phone's lifetime and those moved as much as this thing is going to. This might just be a cause of early production models and early adopter problems and might work out later. Note: the flex cables are not bad per se as they are also used in cubesats for instance.

Also flex cables are generally have .. i don't know what they are called 'slide sockets' on both ends, and cost pennies. Therefore designed to be repaired. Not much you can do when you flex your screen in half except replace one of the most expensive parts of your phone.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#112

Post by jvagner »

fetus8 wrote: post #69
sandworm101 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> They've made every size of phone between a stamp and a tablet. There's nothing left to do. Really? My dream phone doesn't exist yet. I want a phone that is reliable, that lasts more than a few days on a single charge. I want one with two USB connections. I want one with a proper headphone jack, and a speaker that is loud enough to hear properly while driving (without a mount). For these features I am willing to tr…

Why do you need a loud enough speaker to hear it while driving? Can't you just tie your phone into your car's audio system? Bluetooth, Aux Cable, or otherwise??

an aside: i'm always amazed at the number of people in new/late-model cars driving while holding their phone to their face.

why aren't these people connecting to their car? if they care enough to drive and hold a phone up, it seems likely they know about bluetooth.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#113

Post by jvagner »

adrianhel wrote: post #75
ethbro wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a Motorola lover, multi-day charge is awesome. Sometimes you forget to charge your phone. No problem! Battery's good until you get to a charger sometime the following day. Also, an oversized battery / efficient chip means I can power-use my phone for a full day without worrying about battery. And finally, because as your battery loses capacity over time, your phone drifts back to one-day charge, not sub-day charge…

My Huawei Mate 20 Lite lasts about 2-3 days. Pretty common for new phones I think.

i only charge my iPhone XR every 2-2.5 days. but i don't commute, and i sit at my desk 4-5 hours/day. when i charge (wirelessly), the phone's right in front of me.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#114

Post by adrianhel »

hanniabu wrote: post #77
onion2k wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most cases seem to be due to users mistakenly removing the permanent screen protection layer. Let's not push blame on to the user. If the screen protection is so vital that the screen will fail within a day without it, then the problem is that the screen protection is removable and to easy to remove.

My phone won't work after I took the battery out. I can't image how they are allowed to produce such garbage. /s

Does you phone make it seem like your battery is an insignificant part of the product? Are you likely to play with the battery repeatedly until it comes off?

Not comparable.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#115

Post by adrianhel »

rockyj wrote: post #12
hliyan wrote: post #2

Most cases seem to be due to users mistakenly removing the permanent screen protection layer. The company claims that the foldable screen has been tested for 200,000 folds -- i.e. about 5 years of rigorous use.

If the protection layer is all that is "protecting" the screen, why make it removable. Or why not put a big warning label on it (or in the manual) when you unbox the phone. Just saying :)

No, place its edges underneath the cover so that it never seems removable.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#116

Post by jmull »

dmix wrote: post #110
neogodless wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh... removable batteries?! I jest, but my best hope for a stagnant market is competition on merits that we really want, and less so for the whizz-bang features that attract attention without improving our lives. I've got a used Nexus 6P with a dying battery. I don't know of any improvements in newer phones I need (except security updates!) but I'm torn whether I want to learn how to replace the battery and risk dama…

Why did batteries stop being replaceable again? I'm guessing it makes the design of the phone circuitry easier? You don't have to make the case removable? The idea that it forces you to buy a new phone never seemed like a good reason to me.

Phone batteries are replaceable. Just not directly by end-users (well, not most end-users).

There are design tradeoffs to make the batteries user-replaceable. E.g., the batteries are going to need a casing and socket that make them OK for users to handle and replace. The phone's going to need additional casing pieces, latches, and seals, etc. The phone's going to be a little bigger, heavier and more expensive. Maybe not a great tradeoff for something needed once every 2-3 years.

I just looked up and Apple is charging $50-$70 to replace your battery, depending on the model. So ~$25-$45 more expensive than a cheap DIY kit from amazon. Considering the various risks of DIY, that's really not that bad to do once every 2-3 years, IMO.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#117

Post by adrianhel »

Traubenfuchs wrote: post #18

This is the direct result of rushing to offer something that can be called innovation after years of a draught. But foldable phones are as much a gimmick as 3D cameras. Phone innovation is indeed dead -for the customer, that's ok, but for the vendors it's a nightmare.

AR - when it becomes practical will be really cool. Smart glasses are the next innovation in smart phones. But it is still years off.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#118

Post by twblalock »

linsomniac wrote: post #88

Noteworthy: 2 of the 3 reviewers I read about broke the screens by taking off the "screen protector" the phone shipped with. It wasn't a screen protector, it was part of the screen.

If it is part of the screen it should not look like a removable screen protector. Everyone is used to pulling a plastic layer off their phone's screen when they take it out of the packaging. This thing looks exactly like one of those.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#119

Post by twblalock »

euler_ wrote: post #62
onion2k wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most cases seem to be due to users mistakenly removing the permanent screen protection layer. Let's not push blame on to the user. If the screen protection is so vital that the screen will fail within a day without it, then the problem is that the screen protection is removable and to easy to remove.

The screen protector is an integral part of the screen. It's not that if fails later on without it, trying to remove it destroys the screen. It's like pulling the contacts out of a port and complaining that the phone won't charge.

> It's like pulling the contacts out of a port and complaining that the phone won't charge.

No, it's like taking the plastic covering off the screen when you remove your new phone from the packaging. Everyone is used to doing that with new phones. If this is not one of those temporary plastic covers then it should not look like one.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#120

Post by iheartpotatoes »

I have an iPhone 7 and the Phone app periodically freezes requiring a reboot. Let that sink in: the primary function of the phone does not work. And I switched to Apple after too many Android issues turned me off completely.

You think we're going to nail folding screens any time soon?

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