Can Foldable Phones Become Lifeline for the Declining Global Smartphone Market?
Can Foldable Phones Become Lifeline for the Declining Global Smartphone Market?
The global smartphone market has seen a continuous decline for nine consecutive quarters, with only the foldable phone category remaining resilient an...
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Notable bits:
Next year, Huawei and Samsung plan to introduce more competitively priced foldable phones, and other Android manufacturers are expected to follow suit, driving accelerated expansion in the foldable phone market.
Recent reports from industry insiders suggest that Huawei’s development of a triple-foldable screen phone is progressing smoothly and may be ready for launch before March next year. It’s expected that two triple-foldable screen phones will be introduced in 2024.
Supply chain sources have also revealed that Samsung is planning to bring foldable phones to the mid-range market next year, further reducing price barriers and making foldable phones more accessible to a broader range of consumers.
dude someone shut the mbas down. we have reached saturation, move on. god forbid anything be made for a decent wage, sold for a decent price without some god damn qtr over qtr profit increase you fucking fucktards.
B-but think of the shareholders!
Seriously :(
I'm tired.
It feels like a gimmick, is the thing to me.
I'm sure, there's going to be tech enthusiasts who will love it, but as a techie, I'm just imagining all the glitches and whatnot that hastily-made, non-standard Android modifications will cause on each of these manufacturers' phones.
Or even just something like unfolding your phone, the app realizing that the screen size changed and it just forgetting the current UI state, because well, need to redraw the UI. Android's UI framework has a talent for that, although I don't know if that's generally fixed by now.
My issues start at durability. Plastic screen? Less dust and water resistance? That's a big no from me before we even get to the software. The technology is impressive, but it still feels like you're compromising a lot for a gimmick.
The whole thing is going to zero in the long run, in my view
It’s like TVs, eventually you get to a point where the incremental features don’t really add anything to the user experience, like when they tried to do the 3D TV thing folks were like no, we are happy with HD, thanks. Once in a while we have a breakthrough in tech like 4K but once all the manufacturers catch on all that is left to compete on is price and then it becomes a race to the bottom.
Phones might be different in that they can be wealth signalers, like jewelery, but I’m not sure how much longer consumers will keep biting. What are they going to do, add a 5th camera? To what end?
Already we see the upgrade cycle slowing, sales missing targets etc. I’m sure inflation isn’t helping either.
Carriers switched to 36 month payments.
What are they going to do, add a 5th camera?
This is unrelated to your point but you've hit in an interesting idea. If they were willing to dedicate a significant part of the body to the camera there could be a breakthrough. If they were willing to make the lens much bigger (like, 2 inch) and/or go in most of the phone thickness it would give it better optical qualities.
The market in smartphones should be expected to decline, and that's a good thing. People keeping old phones for longer = less e-waste, but they have to introduce a new, fragile gimmick for profits
Not unless they can make them like $300-$600 bucks
Hardly anyone wants a $2000 phone
So me not wanting to upgrade my pixel 6a to a pixel 8 because it works just fine is a problem for the global Smartphone economy? Fuck these guys. I want hardware that lasts and doesn't end up in a landfill. I don't give a shit if these executives can't buy a third yacht or another tennis court in their back yard, I'm going to stick with what works. The hypocrisy of these kinds of articles is disgusting at best and immoral at worst.
in a world with dwindling resources people are satisfied with something they already own. sounds wonderful.
Smartphones are so big nowadays I'd be down to using a flip phone instead, if only they weren't still so damn expensive. I like that form factor and the foldable screen technology seems pretty mature by now. Also, closing the phone to end a call will never not be cool.
I'm still not sold on the durability enough for it to be worth the price. I like the idea, but I'm gonna wait
I had the 2nd gen z flip and ran into durability issues. About a year in the screen started developing stress fractures along the crease. Honestly it is a solid tank aside from that though. Threw that bad boy all over the place.
Man. I loved answering my phone by flipping it open, and ending it by closing it. Star Trek style.
I'm fine with going back to Pagers at this point, honestly
Forget those damn foldables. I want that small phones with removable batteries back!
EU's got you covered. They'll be a requirement by 2025
Ironically, they might enjoy selling you batteries if they can't sell you on an entirely new phone.
I wonder how long it will take them to think up another scheme of selling you something extra, too. Perhaps we'll see a resurgence of those "modular" models that could take pluggable parts.
This is why completely closed technical ecosystems are bad, they eventually reach saturation.
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No, phones are not durable, fixable and upgradeable enough to be worth more than a laptop.
No lol
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The advantage of a phone that folds into a smaller square is that it more easily fits in pockets. I know generally this isn't an issue for men, but women's pockets are pitifully tiny. It's nice to be able to own a phone that finally fits into my damn pants pocket.
It definitely can, IF the prices become affordable and they ALL get a large, square outer display.
Those round displays are useless and take away the benefit of the folding screen - the ability to check and respond without opening the phone.
They also need a headphone jack, especially if they plan to price them affordably. This small sized device is the ideal form factor for a headphone jack because it would be an iPod in your pocket or on your desk. It just suits the form factor perfectly.