Samsung teases its Galaxy Unpacked 2020 foldable phone reveal

[HEXUS]

Video shows foldable obscured by silk sheets. But EVLeaks shares some clear photos.

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[3dcandy]

wonder who will have a nice Valentines day then?

[Spud1]

Another missed opportunity

Hole in the screen. Again.

Grr.

[3dcandy]

Another missed opportunity

Hole in the screen. Again.

Grr.

It's not going to go away - like in screen fingerprint sensors

[KultiVator]

£1500ish is a lot for a device you have to faff around with just to get to a point you can actually view the screen, which will become increasingly creased with each successive fold operation and likely need replacing earlier than the 3 year plus cycle many handset owners have settled into.

As a result, I'm struggling to get behind the whole small-form-factor smartphone concept... perhaps also because the initial promise of 'foldable' devices was to go bigger (e.g. tablet-sized screen from a phone-sized form-factor) not smaller!

This looks like a fall-back position, because foldable is still unproven in the market and probably represents less of a business risk than the disappointing first wave of foldables from early 2019.

So we could be about to witness a big push to get these things into the hands of hipsters and influencers who don't mind paying the early-adopter tax.

[Ttaskmaster]

Change the shape of the future

By using the shapes of the past, back when things were still sensible!!

£1500ish is a lot for a device you have to faff around with just to get to a point you can actually view the screen

What, like a gaming laptop?
You may not be old enough to remember the 1990s, but opening a flip-phone one-handed was very easy. I cannot even begin to comprehend how that could possibly be a prohibitive difficulty for any unimpaired human over the age of 10 months...!!

As a result, I'm struggling to get behind the whole small-form-factor smartphone concept... perhaps also because the initial promise of 'foldable' devices was to go bigger (e.g. tablet-sized screen from a phone-sized form-factor) not smaller!

They will go bigger, eventually. Right now, people are tied of big form factors. The only people who need to be carrying massive great slabs stuffed into pockets are soldiers wearing body armour with ceramic plates!!

So we could be about to witness a big push to get these things into the hands of hipsters and influencers who don't mind paying the early-adopter tax.

We always witness this, though. Do you not remember people queueing up for days just to get a new iPhone?

[KultiVator]

You may not be old enough to remember the 1990s, but opening a flip-phone one-handed was very easy. I cannot even begin to comprehend how that could possibly be a prohibitive difficulty for any unimpaired human over the age of 10 months...!!

I remember (most of) the 1970's.

You'll notice I used the word "faff" rather than "difficulty"... as I like pulling a phone out of a pocket and being ready to use it or answer incoming calls with a minimum of fuss.

Folding a regular sized phone looks to hamper this immediacy.

Each to their own though.

[edmundhonda]

17mm thick, lmao.

Foldables just look like a hassle to deal with during modern daily use. Maybe if you're really into watching videos the extra screen size benefits, but for me it seems like a good way to spend an extra couple of seconds unbending the thing every time I look at it.

Yeah, I had a foldable back when they were popular as well. Older doesn't mean better.

[Gentle Viking]

Well the old flap phones ( easy to "unflap" ) was something else than this as it is not a flap. but 2 halves you have to pry apart.

I cant see i would ever get a phone like this, but hopefully my current phone will also be my last one, cuz i really have no personal need for a phone, only carry one to please my dear old sick mother.
When she go, my phone go.

[KultiVator]

i really have no personal need for a phone, only carry one to please my dear old sick mother.
When she go, my phone go.

Maybe the Gentle Viking will meet a Viking Babe and the phone will suddenly get more use... like for sharing, ahem, 'Vik Pics' ;-D

[Ttaskmaster]

I remember (most of) the 1970's.

But not all, I noticed.... still recovering from the 1960s, none of which should be remembered if you did it right, or just born later?

You'll notice I used the word "faff" rather than "difficulty"... as I like pulling a phone out of a pocket and being ready to use it or answer incoming calls with a minimum of fuss.

Compared to just flipping (or otherwise physically manipulating, but most people will find ways to do it efficiently) open a phone, I'd argue that having to press a button then type a PIN, or swipe a security pattern is even more of a 'faff'...

Each to their own though.

It never is, though, and that's the problem. It's always each to whatever market trends companies want to force upon you, no matter how useless and impractical... like touchscreen keyboards.
I'm all about having options, so when something comes along that is different to the one and only slab form-factor that every smartphone follows these days, I'm interested!

17mm thick, lmao.

I'm guessing you have small hands?
Thickness is not usually a problem as clothing can wrap around the profile better than it can around a large, inflexible frame. Large frame, massive screen and thin profile as a combination just makes it easier to lose grip and drop.

Foldables just look like a hassle to deal with during modern daily use. Maybe if you're really into watching videos the extra screen size benefits, but for me it seems like a good way to spend an extra couple of seconds unbending the thing every time I look at it.

Half the market will be using Smartwatches to do the simple stuff anyway, so it's not an issue.
The first thing that many others do before they sit down is take their phone out their pocket and place it on the desk/table top, so a smaller unit takes up less meeting room table real estate.
But even before that, if my phone goes then I have to contort my body about, so I can reach into a pocket and pull out my phone, which is a considerable hassle, faff and often difficulty. I miss calls because I can't get the phone out in time.
Besides, having an actual degree of physical interaction with something is always better... F-16 pilots proved that and MadCatz/Saitek learned that lesson the hard way.

Nokia 8110 in The Matrix - Definitive proof that collapsible devices are way cool!!

Yeah, I had a foldable back when they were popular as well. Older doesn't mean better.

They fit my pockets far better than modern phones do - Even though I typically have cargo pockets that can hold large Maxpedition organisers, smartphones are painfully awkward.

[KultiVator]

But not all, I noticed.... still recovering from the 1960s, none of which should be remembered if you did it right, or just born later?

Born early seventies - so missed out on the summer of love, big brown flares, kipper ties and all those hippy shenanigans ;-)

Good to have choice with phone form-factors - but small foldables are not for me. The in-screen finger-print reader makes accessing my phone pretty snappy - I suspect any foldable will still retain additional unlocking steps, so the unfolding process is still an extra delay that some of us will not like.

If you travel a lot for business in a suit, a conventional SmartPhone skinny slab fits better within an inside jacket pocket than this stumpy 17mm chunk of glass and metal... but definitely horses for courses.

A big foldable, on the other hand, might one day earn a place in my road-warrior kit bag - but only when I'm happy that I can live with the design and when the longevity of the screen tech is less of a gamble.

[Ttaskmaster]

Born early seventies - so missed out on the summer of love, big brown flares, kipper ties and all those hippy shenanigans ;-)

No worries. You didn't miss much.

If you travel a lot for business in a suit, a conventional SmartPhone skinny slab fits better within an inside jacket pocket than this stumpy 17mm chunk of glass and metal...

It does? I must be slimmer than the average person... or have better tailored suits!
I can't even get a Galaxy S5 to avoid printing and bulging!