[Discussion] Which phones are you excited for in 2024?

Currently using the Fold 5, upgraded from the Fold 4. Before you ask, no I'm not rich, I got it for free thanks to my company. The Fold has its pros and cons. For the pros, I'm a heavy book/manga reader, so it's super convenient having the large screen. Or even for browsing websites, or ssh/remote access, or just Lemmy - or heck, even when typing and editing this reply - it's a far better experience than a small screen, a huge quality of life improvement. So in that regard I'm happy, and wouldn't go back to a normal phone.

The thing I'm ambivalent about it is the bloatware. But it wasn't really a problem, nothing Universal Android Debloater couldn't take care of. Once debloated + with a custom launcher, you don't even care that it's a Samsung.

What I dislike about it mainly is the lack of dust resistance - I've seen people complaining about dust somehow getting under the display or inside the hinge, so I've been super cautious about it. Like recently when I was on a holiday and we went to this desert area where you could go sandboarding and stuff, I didn't dare take my phone out of my pockets or even touch it, until I got back in and washed my hands, in case some sand got into the hinge or under the screen. I think that's a bit unacceptable for a such a premium priced phone.

The second thing I dislike about it is the camera - it's pretty average, at least for a flagship price. Not that it's a dealbreaker for me (I mainly take photos of food lol), for the price you're paying, Samsung could do much, much better.

The third thing I dislike is the e-fuse/KNOX. It's incredulous that Samsung permanently voids your warranty if you unlock your bootloader, and that you permanently lose some features - which reduced the resale value of the phone. No other Android OEM goes to this extent.

Finally, the new official grip/strap case sucks - because it's a hard plastic/rubber thing that you need to slide downwards and bend (requires two hands) you can't simply hold the phone and slip your fingers into the strap one-handed, which makes it very inconvenient. It's a massive step backwards in usability compare to the Fold 4 version. People have also complained about the new strap coming off easily (because it's swappable) or even breaking and causing you to drop the phone. No idea what Samsung were thinking when they made this change. Thankfully, it looks like there are third-party cases with the same strap design as the Fold 4, but I haven't tried them yet. I actually managed to make my old Fold 4 strap case fit my Fold 5, as a temporary measure until the thirdparty case arrives (had to order it from overseas).