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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

#131

Post by jandrese »

Someone wrote: post #93
solarkraft wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Samsung might have the more impressive technology (well, we thought that before this), but Huawei seems to have thought about the concept a bit more (even though the technology is easier). It just makes so much more sense to fold to the outside.

”It just makes so much more sense to fold to the outside.” It may make less sense if the bended part of the screen isn’t as strong as conventional flat screens. There’s a bit of a catch-22 there: you either fold the screen to the inside to give it some more protection, or you fold it to the outside to have a screen on the outside and increase the bending radius. I don’t know enough of the technology to say what’s the…

Folding it out lets you use half of the screen and treat it as a normal (almost hand sized) phone for regular day to day stuff, and only unfold it when you really need those extra pixels.

Protecting the screen from damage is an exercise left up to the reader.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#132

Post by agumonkey »

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?

Gotta carry the grievance. What you hold in your head is not a phone, it's a pocket computer platform. Phone is mostly a vestigial tail at that point.

I'm on the Android side and their phone app is deliciously garbage, nothing is right, nothing. And nobody cares. I miss my motorola v50 every time I have to make a call.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#134

Post by Bud »

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?

Folding screens are at least 5 years out. Samsung clearly wasn't even close.

As for your iPhone 7 Phone app, that's clearly an anomaly local to your device. Not normal. Reinstall your software.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#135

Post by rchaud »

jmull wrote: post #116
dmix wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

What you call "design tradeoffs" is what consumers call "basic features". I can't think of a single phone before the iPhone that had non-replaceable batteries. Samsung and LG had replacement slots on their flagships all the way up to 2014/15. You had someone a 2014 LG G3 today, and I doubt anyone would complain about the weight or the size, especially when the top-line iPhone has a 6.5 inch screen.

> Maybe not a great tradeoff for something needed once every 2-3 years.

The use case for a replaceable battery is for emergency situations, not just when the original stops holding a charge. I would much rather go back to that time when I could discreetly slip in a replacement than have to use a phone attached to a giant brick with a flimsy USB cable.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#136

Post by layer8 »

xenospn wrote: post #124
s3r3nity wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

The killer feature of the iPhone SE (and its predecessors) is that it can be comfortably operated with just one hand and fits in every pocket. That‘s why many people will continue to use it until it breaks, or Apple decides to release smaller phones again (unlikely at this point).

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#137

Post by linsomniac »

neogodless wrote: post #104
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.

I cannot ascertain from your comment if you have an opinion on this, but my opinion is that this is a major design flaw (even if it didn't result in immediately broken screens).

Oh, I don't have an opinion on it, thanks for clarifying that. I could probably formulate one, and I'm not sure it would be different from yours.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#138

Post by javagram »

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…

My 2010 car didn’t come with Bluetooth either.

I fixed it by replacing the head unit with one that supports Bluetooth and CarPlay. An easy DIY project or you can pay a small fee to have it done for you by an installer.

Re: Samsung's folding phone breaks for reviewers

#140

Post by linsomniac »

twblalock wrote: post #118
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.

I once had a friend that was complaining about their decade old microwave and how the keypad was really looking bad, like it was going to fail at any moment. I took a slightly closer look at it, scratched it with my fingernail, and peeled off the protective cover, leaving a brand-spanking-new looking keypad.

We definitely have people trained that electronics come with a protective film over them. I mean, we clearly don't have everyone trained, but... :-)

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