Technology

Do I need a foldable phone? No. Do I like the idea of owning a phone that is actually small enough to be used with one hand and can fit anywhere? Yes. Besides, closing it to end a call is very cool.

I have a Z flip and while it's far from perfect, foldable flip phones are great and I'd choose them over a same-spec regular phone every day. Much more convenient to carry in my pocket compared to a slab and basically having an included tripod for photos is pretty nice as well.

I want a foldable phone.

Phones have become larger abd flatter over the years, and they're just uncomfortable to have in my pocket. A foldable phone will solve this issue.

I didn't buy one yet due to not believing the tech is there yet. Screens are very scratchable and the battery life is poor.

I want a flip phone.

I still think the Game boy Advance SP's design was peak. Lightweight, compact, and very distinct. It looked sleek enough to not look like a toy, where I was using it in the office and nobody would bat an eye.

Give me that with a phone. Im not interested in being a first buyer or spending money for that novelty. But id happily use a foldable the moment they become as reliable as these tablet phones.

My wife loves her flip. I personally don't like them, yes there is crease right where it folds and over time it will make your phone stop working. We just replaced hers after months of her dealing with the phone glitching. But she does enjoy it and requested getting another flip phone.

Honestly a foldable smartphone should be 2 touchscreens with a hinge if there’s at all any risk of a bendy screen breaking more easily or otherwise being inferior to that.

My wife loves her flip. She just upgraded from the 4 to the 6 and the creaae is barely visible when in use

She uses it a lot for videocalls and she folds it to use it as a tripod, and also being able to use the good camera to take selfies is a great use case

She also loves that it fits on most of her pants when folded, usually women's pants have very small pockets.

That phone is not for me, but I can definitely attest to real use cases

carrying a bulky Z fold phone in my pocket only to be able to have a tablet once in a while and watch a movie is not interesting enough.

It suits my needs perfectly though! You can take my folding phone out of my cold dead hands

I want a flip design. Or women’s clothing with pockets large enough to fit my current phone. Whichever is easier. Seems to be the folding phone at this point.

Back before smart phones I always preferred flip phones over "candy bars", the flip phone helps to protect the delicate screen and buttons while the phone is in your pocket/purse. You don't really need a case for a flip phone.

Modern smart phones tend to be more delicate than they should be across the board, but in theory, a flip phone puts the more delicate parts in a safer place.

I agree the Flip and kiln are utterly pointless, just a big ol nostalgic rip imo.

But book styles like Fold are pretty great, being able to go from phone to tablet whenever has been amazing! My Pixel 9 pro fold is my most used tablet ever, I've had a lot of tablets over the years and they all end up collecting dust in no time because they suffer from a fatal flaw. They're never near me when I need/want a tablet the most.

I’d take a foldable over the current slabs any day of the week

The use case is people who want pocketable, one handed phones. It doesn’t matter to me if they make another iPhone mini or an iPhone flip. Whichever one they release will be my next phone.

The last iPhone mini release was in 2021. I don’t want a near 7” pro max phone. 6.4” is too big in my opinion as well.

I kind of want a flip phone for the compact size when folded so it will fit more easily into my tiny pockets. But I don't want a phone with a screen that likely need regular (and expensive) replacements if I want to keep using it long past the 2 year contract window like I do with most phones.

I watch movies and read on my samsung fold and I enjoy it a lot

Note: the latest pixel fold is about the same size and weight as the pixel 9 pro.

It's actually kinda incredible that it is that light and thin while folding.

Nintendo DS emulation. That's about the one novelty use case.

If I were on the verge of running a monopoly, I'd be spending my money on making anything that the competition is making, along with my usual product. Because if you let them run with it and it turns out to be the next big thing, you've just shot yourself in the leg. Microsoft is no longer just an OS maker. Google is no longer just a search engine company. Amazon is no longer a bookstore.

Diversify your assets.

Meanwhile I want a tablet with phone call support. (Samsung Tabs with LTE/5G are carrier locked)

Do people need foldables? Absolutely not, but I love mine. I went with the OnePlus Open mainly for the cameras, and the bigger screen is great for reviewing or sharing the photos with someone. Having two apps side by side is really nice but I don't really use that feature that often.

I think the bigger thing is having a screen that faces away from the main viewing side. Showing a live camera view or translating speech into text from another language are two good, but rare, use cases. I think what it really comes down to is how much do you use your phone and for what purpose?

they stopped and asked themselves if people want and need a foldable?

Who wants a thin phone with a large screen? Nobody.

Most folds show movies at the same size as regular, non folding phones. That's not a valid use case unless you're streaming a 4:3 ratio video from the 30s.

I could allow that some people would rather carry a thicker but shorter object in their pocket than a thinner one with larger surface area. But I can’t think of much more than that. It bugs me that all foldable now ALSO have a miniature screen on the outside. Like they immediately admit that their primary feature is a nonstarter and add bulk to the phone when bulk is a primary issue with foldables.