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Samsung taking market share from Apple in U.S. as foldable phones gain momentum

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Re: Samsung taking market share from Apple in U.S. as foldable phones gain momentum

#321

Post by a456463 »

Lord-Jobo wrote: post #312
treecrypto wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I had another two Samsung phones that developed hardware faults making them unusable after 2 years of use, I'm absolutely done with Samsung I haven't tried any foldable phones and I have no intention to anytime soon, but with other samsung phones my experience has been completely different. I've only ever used Samsung smartphones, and the only times they broke was when I dropped them or mishandled them myself someho…

My experience with 5 Samsung phones over 10ish years, last one being 2019: Great hardware that nearly always impresses. Very infrequent hardware issues compared to its main competitors (in the android space). Extremely annoying software experience. Locked bootloader aside, as I recognize that's only an issue for a very small group. But the software goes through these intense hills and valleys where you can go a long…

Oh how I wish I could root Samsung phones. The best hardware all around. Cramped down by the dumb bootloader lock and Knox tripping!

Re: Samsung taking market share from Apple in U.S. as foldable phones gain momentum

#323

Post by simoncion »

jcgl wrote: post #289
simoncion wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I’m not gonna buy e-waste. e-waste? Their latest phone is running the very same version as the four-year-old Pixel 5a; Android 14. Incidentally... not only does my Pixel 5a still runs software distributed through the Play Store just fine, its battery life is still quite acceptable.

If you can find me credible evidence that Unihertz will support the device for 5+ years, delivering major version upgrades and timely security patches, then I'll take back what I said. In 2025, a lax approach to the OS lifecycle (especially with security patches) isn't legitimate and respectable.

> If you can find me credible evidence that Unihertz will support the device for 5+ years, delivering major version upgrades and timely security patches...

You don't even get that with most Pixel phones. Through to the Pixel 5 family, you only get three years of updates, period. Through to the Pixel 7 family, you get an additional two of security updates. It's not until the Pixel 8 family that you're getting what you demand.

That's a lot of "e-waste" that Google only recently stopped generating. ;)

But, honestly? I'm not sure why you consider the current five-years-of-updates policy to not be creating an unacceptable amount of e-waste. I have (and still use) nearly-twenty-year-old laptops with the latest Linux kernel and desktop environment software (& etc) versions available. They work just fine. The only maintenance required has been battery replacement and occasional thermal paste replacement. [0]

Only five years of updates? That's an absolutely absurd policy.

[0] Though, it's not clear that the thermal paste actually needed to be replaced... it was just fun to break out the screwdrivers and service manual.

Re: Samsung taking market share from Apple in U.S. as foldable phones gain momentum

#324

Post by baby »

zhyder wrote: post #194
baby wrote: post #108

I switched to Android last year, from being a long time iPhone user, just for the fold. I got the google pixel fold 9 pro. I also got lucky as it's right when all the cool AI integration started (and it sounds like it doesn't really work on Apple). My first hand experience is that I will probably never be able to go back to a non-folding phone. The ability to get a small tablet on demand anywhere (subway, train, bed,…

I've thought larger bi-folds have an odd aspect ratio for anything but two-app multi-tasking. E.g. there's ~ no benefit for videos compared to non-foldables with half the screen area. Is aspect ratio not an issue in practice somehow?

Yeah videos aren't as big as they could be due to the aspect ratio, they still look bigger though and its enough of a life improvement that I always flip mine open when I want to watch a video!

Re: Samsung taking market share from Apple in U.S. as foldable phones gain momentum

#325

Post by jajko »

idiotsecant wrote: post #290
jajko wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife is a doctor but exact opposite of power user for phones and technology overall. She switched from android to iphone 13 mini when it came out, I recommended it to her and thought Apple is ideal platform for her. Bough her ipods pro too, chargers and so on. The only, literally only thing she liked was the seamless integration of airpods with phone, hated literally everything else about the hardware and mainly i…

It's wild how HN will consistently vote down comments that don't have good experiences with apple products, even well thought out ones like this. At the time of this comment you're pretty heavily voted as a negative comment.

Its fine I don't care, I prefer speaking whats on my mind (or experience of others around me) rather than chasing meaningless points by saying likeable stuff. Its not even my first account here.

Re: Samsung taking market share from Apple in U.S. as foldable phones gain momentum

#326

Post by leobg »

ZeroCool2u wrote: post #64
leobg wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about book reading requires a large screen? I find my phone much more comfortable to hold than a book. It fits my hand. You only read one sentence at a time anyway. I rather scroll, keeping the current sentence in the middle of the screen than jump around with my eyes in an open book, and having to turn pages, or keeping them flat. Am I missing something? (Real question. I read a lot!)

Fair question and I read a lot on my phone too! I think the use cases that come to mind for me are comics/graphic novels and research papers. Both of these are kind of annoying to read on phones right now.

I agree. PDFs/papers are no fun on a phone. I heard “book” and thought of fiction / nonfiction.

Re: Samsung taking market share from Apple in U.S. as foldable phones gain momentum

#327

Post by dotancohen »

W3zzy wrote: post #250
whycome wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh and it's distinctly worse on the iOS 26 beta. Certain text boxes (like HN) are a nightmare. I used to smoothly type without looking on iOS. It was like magic. Now, it's just a mess. I think gboard on Android is the current top experience.

FOSS heliboard is a strong competitor to Gboard.

I just tried to use Heliboard. It has many rough edges, I'll file issues to see it they can be improved.

For one thing, the voice typing is useless. It respects neither the language of the full keyboard nor the language shown in its interface. And that separate interface needs to be brought up separately, thus requiring many taps - exactly what I'm avoiding by using voice typing in the first place.

Selecting text then pressing the Delete key does not delete that selection in Hebrew or Arabic. It does work in English.

The swiping in English works fine - probably because that library is lifted directly from Gboard. So the idea is independence from propriety Gboard is not reality anyway. Swiping does not work in Hebrew or Arabic - which together with the lack of voice typing means that I can not use this keyboard at all.

I do like the arrow keys and selection buttons in the toolbar. Gboard has that in a seperate pane, but in the toolbar is much more convenient.

Re: Samsung taking market share from Apple in U.S. as foldable phones gain momentum

#328

Post by Marsymars »

baby wrote: post #232
Marsymars wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except e.g. the 7.6" Pixel Fold screen is still only a third of the area of a 13" MacBook (not to mention a desktop). To people (like me) who want bigger screens, your comment reads akin to "Imagine that you need to grab your phone because you need a 6" screen, now instead you can just flip out a second screen from your Apple Watch and have a 2.5" screen."

A macbook pro is so small compared to my big tv in the living room

Hey, I can relate, I’ve got a projector in my basement. Watching anything cinematic on a 50” display feels pretty anemic in comparison unless I sit awkwardly close to the TV.

Re: Samsung taking market share from Apple in U.S. as foldable phones gain momentum

#329

Post by seec »

oblio wrote: post #185
seec wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes but it's not ugly in the look/fashion sense, it's just ugly because it doesn't match a reality where it has a purpose. Either they have good form factor closed but they suck open or they have good form factor open but they suck closed. They could go with no external screen but it would be much more annoying to use. And I think it says something fundamental about smartphones, that Steve Jobs intuitively understood…

The Fold 7 is thin enough that it's a convenient phone when not opened.

It is just below 9mm which I'll agree is impressive. Most of the dimensions are in the acceptable range compared to "Pro" models of competitive brands. But I find those already too much, and a pain to carry in most of my pockets.

It also cost over 2000€ which is more than a Pro iPhone plus iPad combo, while only giving you the benefit of being somewhat pocketable. It is not a better phone and a much worse tablet. If the thing is going too annoying to carry in pocket (particularly when cycling) and requires me to get a bag, I might as well have a bag big enough to carry the superior option which also happens to be cheaper and will get much better battery life (among other things).

It's a niche show-off device of little practicality. It is like small sports coupé cars. I understand why some get them but they will always be a way to attract attention more than anything else.

Re: Samsung taking market share from Apple in U.S. as foldable phones gain momentum

#330

Post by oblio »

seec wrote: post #329
oblio wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Fold 7 is thin enough that it's a convenient phone when not opened.

It is just below 9mm which I'll agree is impressive. Most of the dimensions are in the acceptable range compared to "Pro" models of competitive brands. But I find those already too much, and a pain to carry in most of my pockets. It also cost over 2000€ which is more than a Pro iPhone plus iPad combo, while only giving you the benefit of being somewhat pocketable. It is not a better phone and a much worse tablet. If…

They're tech demonstrators as far as I'm concerned. I'm not going to buy them at 2000€ but they will be 800€ at some point in the near future and I will almost for sure buy one then.
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