Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers • Hacker News Board

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#121

Post by ceejayoz » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 6:30 PM UTC

bluGill wrote: post #105

dahdum wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure you've realized your dream phone will never exist, it sounds more like an older ultrabook than a phone. What's the reason for a USB port, much less two of them? Every new vehicle the past few years has bluetooth, so why a loud speaker?

I have yet to see a bicycle with bluetooth. (electric bike is not the same thing). My car doesn't have bluetooth - it is only 13 years/250000 miles out so it has plenty of life left (most people replace their cars long before they are worn out, I drive mine into the ground). I haven't seen a leaf rake with bluetooth either, and most lawn mowers still don't have it either. I'm well aware that the dream phone may never…

You can get a Bluetooth speaker that'll clamp onto your bike for $20, or some earbuds. Expecting a phone to blast out high-decibel music that you can hear while mowing the lawn seems like an insane ask.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#122

Post by ceejayoz » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 6:31 PM UTC

jvagner wrote: post #112

fetus8 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I've got a recent Corolla and the Bluetooth integration is buggy, frustrating, the microphone's bad enough people struggle to hear me, and it doesn't much like deciding between multiple phones in the same car.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#123

Post by braythwayt » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 6:32 PM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #89

FussyZeus wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean if you own a Ferrari and it doesn't need frequent servicing, I'd question why the hell you bought the thing if you didn't intend to drive it as it's designed to be driven.

The bulk of the 'supercars' for sale here in NL has absurdly low mileage compared to their age.

This is often reflected in the surprisingly low insurance premiums relative to the cost of a supercar. Although there are plenty of YouTube videos showing trust fund babies people wrecking them, most owners are middle-aged men who only drive them a few kilometers here and there, they are purchased as trophies, not as daily drivers or race cars.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#124

Post by xenospn » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 6:35 PM UTC

s3r3nity wrote: post #90

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…

My iPhone SE (refreshed version) hits all of this, except the 2 USB connections -- which is a very specific request, but w/e, I don't judge. In my mind still is one of the top 5 smartphones available, even if it hasn't refreshed in a few years.

I actually stopped optimizing my app for your screen size. I have no idea if it even works. Surprised there are people out there still using these!

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#125

Post by rchaud » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 6:35 PM UTC

Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #3

>The device the BBC handled, incidentally, was taken away by Samsung shortly after filming was finished, so our team hasn’t had a chance to see these issues for ourselves. This seems a red flag, when devices involving mechanical innovation the reviewers should insist on long term review & shouldn't term anything less as a review.

Samsung did the same thing at MWC after the unveiling. Most of the demo vids I saw on YT had Samsung employees handling the device.

Huawei on the other hand gave the Mate X to YT'ers for them to shoot 5-10 minute videos examining the phone and fold mechanism from every conceivable angle.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#126

Post by mrguyorama » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 6:36 PM UTC

ethbro wrote: post #70

the-pigeon wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you want your phone charge to last more than a day? Can't you just charge it while you sleep?

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…

I was spoiled by a Droid Turbo. Now I can't buy anything with less than 3500mAh of battery, which severely limits my options. Too bad Motorola phones never get software updates and are super locked down

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#127

Post by xenospn » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 6:36 PM UTC

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #102

benj111 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"There's nothing left to do. Phones are as dead as the PC." My toilet has a cistern, u bend, and all the features of a toilet of 100 years ago. Never the less toilets are far from dead. What you are describing is a mature product, not a dead product.

My toilet is dramatically different, better ceramic and less of it, lighter. It's a close-coupled cistern doing away with some piping. It's dual flush, uses much less water; it even has a redesigned ball-cock (float shut-off valve). It has a soft-close removeable seat/lid. It's actually surprising the amount of new tech in a regular toilet - even compared to 20 years ago. And that's not a complex automated toilet, ju…

I'm assuming you don't buy a new toilet every 3 years or so. And therein lies the problem.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#128

Post by yason » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 6:41 PM UTC

the-pigeon wrote: post #63

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 want your phone charge to last more than a day? Can't you just charge it while you sleep?

My OnePlus 6 lasts about four days, with each charging cycle containing a few hours of speaking, checking random stuff on the web, and using instant messaging and occasional photo shooting. I really, really don't miss the era of early smartphones that barely made it through the day and when their charge went low they died pretty quickly.

I've gone to bed several times with less than 10% battery left, woke up with 2-3% left in the morning, realised the battery is dying and put it charging during breakfast. Back to at least 80-90% when I'm leaving and thus good for another three days.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#129

Post by valine » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 6:47 PM UTC

oliwarner wrote: post #53

There are a few ways of looking at this. Most of the more engineery-types are pointing out the inevitability of failure, the challenges trying to find a good enough substrate to mount a touchscreen stack on, and trying to protect an exposed external hinge from impact, and all that material engineering science stuff that's really clever... But well besides the point. I can't even rationalise why anybody wants a foldin…

I want a folding screen because it will make every part of using phones a nicer experience. There's a reason tablets exist: tablets provide a superior user experience. The foldable form factor lets you put a tablet in your pocket. Nobody understood the need for the iPad when it came out either.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#130

Post by jandrese » Thu, Apr 18, 2019, 6:47 PM UTC

iheartpotatoes wrote: post #120

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?

Sounds like you might have bad hardware or a corrupt install. Phone app freezes should be exceedingly rare, to the point of nonexistence for most users. I assume you have not jailbroken your phone?