Maybe they’ll someday do a clamshell iPhone, but for me personally this is what I wanted out of a folding iPhone.
Being able to have my phone become an iPad Mini just seems awesome. I love the tablet form factor. I’ll admit the reason I’m most excited about is pretty niche, but I just adore the idea of being able to have forScore in my pocket in a form factor I can feasibly use for sheet music (it runs on my iPhone but the screen is too small to be useful except as a reference). I know it seems silly or rare, but believe it or not I’ve frequently wished I had my iPad with me for sheet music purposes.
Especially with Apple Pencil support, being able to just bring my phone to rehearsals is tempting.
I don’t know if I’ll jump on the Gen 1, and I commiserate with your disappointment, but I have to admit I’m excited.
i can see how cool it would be for sheet music! i personally use paper but i have been considering putting sheet music on my e-ink tablet. personally, if i'm already bringing a bass guitar or clarinet case and music stand, it's easy enough to also bring a tablet sized thing. i don't need it to also be my phone. i like having my phone be just a phone, and as portable as possible. i already have a separate camera and music player and notebook. probably i will get a dumbphone when my iphone dies.
That’s totally understandable. I sing (I have a violin but I’ve barely touched it in years), so I don’t have to carry an instrument with me anyway. If I do have my choral folder with me I can carry the iPad, no problem, and when I go to rehearsals and stuff I bring it with me and it’s fine. It’s when I’m out and about I sometimes wish I had access to it. It’s definitely not a major use case, but it’s the sort of thing that excites me about the concept. Just the idea of biking to a rehearsal without a bag like, “Oh my phone is good enough” tickles me. 😅
i already have a separate camera and music player and notebook. probably i will get a dumbphone when my iphone dies.
I definitely get that in your case! I want my phone to be everything in a single device, but I totally get the opposite. My brother-in-law uses a dumb phone and loves it.
Honestly with all the modern android/samsung stuff, if you're into a foldable display this iphone may be the best option. All foldables on the market are impossible to repair and android is quickly locking down & enshittifying. With this you at least get a few years of updates, appledontcare or whatever and presumably they will replace your screen phone for a reasonable price when it cracks.
Toestel Display/Scherm Camera achterzijde Camera voorzijde USB connector Batterij Back cover Screenprotector
Galaxy Z Flip5 €369 €89 €79 €69 €99 €69 €29
Although, the older the model the more expensive the screen replacement. E.g., at €369 for the Flip5 inner screen one could as well buy a new second hand model.
That's surprisingly reasonable, actually. Do you know if the hinge replacement is included, and will you be charged separately for the "screen protector" (another €29)?
A friend had one of those Z Fold-somethings, naturally the screen exploded after 2.5 years of use (in a country where they don't offer any repair services), I looked into replacing the screen myself and the procedure for it looked straight up impossible compared even to other Samsung phones.
From the manufacturer's use guidelines and warranty periods. They tell you to keep the phone away from dust and liquids (good luck with that in your pockets) and the warranty on Z Fold series is 2 years in the EU and 1 year worldwide. I'm yet to see one make it past 4 years with no screen defects throughout, i.e. there are currently very few users of Fold4 who haven't had the screen replaced. Then again the average phone lifespan worldwide is 3 years (which sounds crazy to me, I used my last daily phone for 6 and would keep doing it if I didn't want to install Linux on it), so I suppose it checks out.
They tell you to keep the phone away from dust and liquids
Sounds true for all non-construction worker specific phones. Also, that's a big leap towards "explodes". I have a colleague who has his flip phone for quite a while now and it pretty much functions as it did in the beginning. I bought mine second-hand and so far so good. Reviews online seem to back up that these are actually built pretty solid and do not just "explode".
I agree with you 100%. I don't think they are "useful", they are a waste of money, a toy and/or a status symbol (I guess). If you're gonna buy one, might as well buy the one from "waste of money/status symbol" company.
19 Comments
deafboy@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 7d
Was there some kind of extinction event in the designer community in the recent decade?
bowsertattoo@piefed.social · 1 pts · 7d
the only reason i would have considered this is to get a small iphone. this is so pointless.
TheRealKuni@piefed.social · 1 pts · 6d
Maybe they’ll someday do a clamshell iPhone, but for me personally this is what I wanted out of a folding iPhone.
Being able to have my phone become an iPad Mini just seems awesome. I love the tablet form factor. I’ll admit the reason I’m most excited about is pretty niche, but I just adore the idea of being able to have forScore in my pocket in a form factor I can feasibly use for sheet music (it runs on my iPhone but the screen is too small to be useful except as a reference). I know it seems silly or rare, but believe it or not I’ve frequently wished I had my iPad with me for sheet music purposes.
Especially with Apple Pencil support, being able to just bring my phone to rehearsals is tempting.
I don’t know if I’ll jump on the Gen 1, and I commiserate with your disappointment, but I have to admit I’m excited.
bowsertattoo@piefed.social · 2 pts · 6d
i can see how cool it would be for sheet music! i personally use paper but i have been considering putting sheet music on my e-ink tablet. personally, if i'm already bringing a bass guitar or clarinet case and music stand, it's easy enough to also bring a tablet sized thing. i don't need it to also be my phone. i like having my phone be just a phone, and as portable as possible. i already have a separate camera and music player and notebook. probably i will get a dumbphone when my iphone dies.
TheRealKuni@piefed.social · 1 pts · 6d
That’s totally understandable. I sing (I have a violin but I’ve barely touched it in years), so I don’t have to carry an instrument with me anyway. If I do have my choral folder with me I can carry the iPad, no problem, and when I go to rehearsals and stuff I bring it with me and it’s fine. It’s when I’m out and about I sometimes wish I had access to it. It’s definitely not a major use case, but it’s the sort of thing that excites me about the concept. Just the idea of biking to a rehearsal without a bag like, “Oh my phone is good enough” tickles me. 😅
I definitely get that in your case! I want my phone to be everything in a single device, but I totally get the opposite. My brother-in-law uses a dumb phone and loves it.
bowsertattoo@piefed.social · 2 pts · 6d
i just hate the feeling of pulling out my phone for one thing, and doing 3 other things and forgetting what i was doing lol
also hate being tracked by big tech
kibblebits@quokk.au · 1 pts · 7d
Admittedly, I like the idea of a folding phone and Apple has the size that I’m looking for. But that is just ugly.
beep@piefed.world · 1 pts · 7d
The dumb Apple design had reminded me of the BlackBerry Passport design:
balsoft@lemmy.ml · -2 pts · 7d
Honestly with all the modern android/samsung stuff, if you're into a foldable display this iphone may be the best option. All foldables on the market are impossible to repair and android is quickly locking down & enshittifying. With this you at least get a few years of updates, appledontcare or whatever and presumably they will replace your
screenphone for a reasonable price when it cracks.arsCynic@piefed.social · 3 pts · 7d
False. But, it depends on the country one's in.
In the UK Samsung offers replacement of the inside and/or outside screen, whereas in Belgium they can replace pretty much everything:
Although, the older the model the more expensive the screen replacement. E.g., at €369 for the Flip5 inner screen one could as well buy a new second hand model.
balsoft@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 7d
That's surprisingly reasonable, actually. Do you know if the hinge replacement is included, and will you be charged separately for the "screen protector" (another €29)?
A friend had one of those Z Fold-somethings, naturally the screen exploded after 2.5 years of use (in a country where they don't offer any repair services), I looked into replacing the screen myself and the procedure for it looked straight up impossible compared even to other Samsung phones.
beep@piefed.world · 2 pts · 7d
Bro, $2,000.
At this price range, you might as well buy a phone and a tablet.
It's just first generation trial.
balsoft@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 7d
If you're buying a foldable you don't give a fuck about money. $2000 is about market rates for this type of device rn:
And it's clear that all foldable screens explode in 2-3 years of regular use, so you're pretty much setting 2 grand on fire anyways just to look cool.
At least I "trust" apple to actually replace your phone when that happens.
arsCynic@piefed.social · 3 pts · 7d
Where did you get this info?
balsoft@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 7d
From the manufacturer's use guidelines and warranty periods. They tell you to keep the phone away from dust and liquids (good luck with that in your pockets) and the warranty on Z Fold series is 2 years in the EU and 1 year worldwide. I'm yet to see one make it past 4 years with no screen defects throughout, i.e. there are currently very few users of Fold4 who haven't had the screen replaced. Then again the average phone lifespan worldwide is 3 years (which sounds crazy to me, I used my last daily phone for 6 and would keep doing it if I didn't want to install Linux on it), so I suppose it checks out.
TheRealKuni@piefed.social · 1 pts · 6d
iPhone Duo is IP68 for dust and liquid, rare among foldables. As I understand it only one of the Pixel foldables is rated the same.
arsCynic@piefed.social · 1 pts · 7d
Sounds true for all non-construction worker specific phones. Also, that's a big leap towards "explodes". I have a colleague who has his flip phone for quite a while now and it pretty much functions as it did in the beginning. I bought mine second-hand and so far so good. Reviews online seem to back up that these are actually built pretty solid and do not just "explode".
beep@piefed.world · 1 pts · 7d
I personally don't find foldables to be useful at their current price range. But more importantly:
I don't trust Apple to be pro-consumer.
At all.
balsoft@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 7d
I agree with you 100%. I don't think they are "useful", they are a waste of money, a toy and/or a status symbol (I guess). If you're gonna buy one, might as well buy the one from "waste of money/status symbol" company.
Also from the same website you've linked: https://consumerrights.wiki/w/Samsung